ICE President's blog - Harnessing the energy of civil engineers
ICE President Richard Coackley describes how the contributions of ICE members are shaping the future direction of the industry, as well as the way the Institution engages with key decision makers.
Being President of this great institution has been a wonderful experience so far and I will use this blog to share the highlights of my time as President and how we are harnessing the energy of civil engineers.
Only a few months ago, I was honoured to hold a private meeting with Prime Minister David Cameron just before he made an important announcement on infrastructure at ICE.
Setting out a vision for UK infrastructure in the 21st century, the Prime Minister agreed with ICE that there was an urgent need to repair Britain’s "decades-long degradation" and to "build for the future with as much confidence and ambition as the Victorians once did".
He referred to ICE as “the birthplace of so much of the infrastructure we depend upon today” and that “great engineering, good infrastructure and a beautiful environment” were part of Britain’s national soul.
In February, we hosted HRH Prince of Wales for this year’s ICE/Halcrow Lecture on sustainability. He said, “It should be a source of great pride that so many of the greatest civil engineering projects have come out of the vision of ICE members.”
And in June I was proud to open and Chair the launch of our latest State of the Nation report on the water sector, with Lord Smith of the Environment Agency and Defra Minister Richard Benyon both publically supporting ICE recommendations (pictured below). Not only did ICE’s views get widespread national attention, our recommendations were heard very clearly by governments in Westminster and the devolved nations.
None of these achievements are possible without the unstinting support of our expert members, who give of their time voluntarily.
Their work gives us the impact we want, the visibility we deserve and most of all, the opportunity to get things done about the big issues. That will help us to attract more young people into the profession and increase our contribution to society.
On my visits around the UK and internationally I have met engineers who are making a major contribution to the economy and to our quality of life.
For instance in South East England I visited the Marchwood Energy Recovery Facility and the Port of Southampton, where I met some of the civil engineers who underpin our infrastructure and make it all possible.
What such visits have reiterated to me is that despite the continuing gloomy economic situation we find ourselves in, the creativity, innovation and professionalism of engineers is clear to see.
This is the epitome of ‘harnessing the energy’ and enthusiasm to ensure ICE remains a relevant institution to its members, to our industry and to the stakeholders we wish to influence.
Richard Coackley is the Institution of Civil Engineers' 147th President, representating and promoting the Institution and the civil engineering profession in the UK and around the world.