ICE President's blog: Starting to deliver value
ICE President Peter Hansford recaps his first six weeks in office in the first of a series of ICE President blog posts throughout his presidential year.
It’s been a very busy but very good first six weeks as President. My year started with my Inaugral Address in front of 500 members and guests at One Great George Street on 2nd November. My theme for the Address and for the year is ‘Delivering Value’. I am promoting the value of infrastructure, value for money, value for carbon, the value of engineers, the value of the Institution and value to society. In my first six weeks I’ve progressed each of these six ‘values’.
Site visit with Parliamentarians to the Blackfriars Station project
I’ve met MPs from Government and Opposition to promote the importance of infrastructure, including a site visit with Parliamentarians to the Blackfriars Station project. The government-led study into the cost of infrastructure projects is nearing completion and I’ve chaired two stakeholder reference group meetings involving clients, consultants and contractors – the study report will be published before Christmas.
Work has started on the Low Carbon Routemap to 2050 – Tim Chapman and I met Paul Morrell, the Government’s Chief Construction Adviser, to discuss this work on the Monday of my first week in office.
I’ve been celebrating and promoting the value of engineers and the Institution, at every opportunity – at the NCE Graduate Awards lunch, during my first Presidential visits to Scotland and Northern Ireland and in mentoring sessions with my President’s Apprentices. The Create Sport schools challenge is underway – a UK-wide initiative aimed at creating an awareness of engineering with school children, parents and teachers at an age before curriculum choices have to made. This is all about inspiring the engineers of tomorrow.
Lord Mayor's Show
This year’s Lord Mayor of London is Michael Bear, a civil engineer. Michael invited me and Pam to the Lord Mayor’s Show. We were pleased to meet the school children making up ICE London’s ‘walking float’ celebrating the capital’s infrastructure. We were also honoured to attend the Lord Mayor’s Banquet, representing the Institution. The Lord Mayor’s charitable appeal is Bear Necessities, raising money for RedR. I am planning for Lord Mayor Bear to meet Brunel the Bear later in the year at One Great George Street.
Peter Hansford is the Institution of Civil Engineer's 146th President, representating and promoting the Institution and the civil engineering profession in the UK and around the world.