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Type
Networking

Stronger Together: Inclusion & fairness in civil engineering plus AGM

Event organised by ICE

Date
10 July 2025
Time
17:30 - 19:30 BST
Location
Radisson Blu Leeds
No.1 The Light
The Headrow
Leeds, LS1 8TL
United Kingdom

This event has now ended

Overview

“Civil engineers are creative problem solvers. They work in harmony with the natural environment to keep towns and cities running to build a more sustainable world” 

For successful outcomes, we not only need to work in harmony with the natural environment, but also our teams and our communities – and these are changing in the same way the natural environment is.  How society will use infrastructure is key to better design.  How communities will grow and interact with each other will allow civil engineers to make decisions regarding future use.  How we interact, include, collaborate and listen to our teams, today, will foster the diversity we need to create sustainable designs. 

Fairness, inclusion and respect (FIR) can be viewed as a methodology.  With close synergies to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, FIR will support you to better understand social environments and how to get the best out of people.  The Yorkshire & Humber Regional Committee want to elevate this with members and showcase positive action and success when putting FIR at the centre of teams. 

Speakers

We have invited speakers to share their experiences related to Fairness, Inclusion and Respect.  Each speaker will bring their own insights as to how we can make changes in our behaviours, and everyday activities, to help navigate the changing social environments that we deal with as civil engineers. 

Introduction of new award

We will also introduce the FIR Impact Award, a new category for the ICE Yorkshire & Humber Awards in 2026. Discover who is eligible, who can submit an entry, and pick up some top tips for drafting a winning entry in this award. 

Annual General Meeting

This event will include the Yorkshire & Humber Regional Committee Annual General Meeting, where we will reflect on the impact of the regional committee in the past year, and vote in incoming committee members for the coming year. 

Programme

17:30 - 18:00

Networking and refreshments

18:00 - 18:20

Yorkshire & Humber AGM

18:20 - 18:30

T QUEST scholar presentations

18:30 - 18:40

Welcome & FIR impact award launch

18:40 - 19:10

Panel discussion: lived experience of FIR in practice

19:10 - 19:20

Q&A

19:20 - 19:30

Call to action and close

Speaker

Sam Blanchard

Sam Blanchard

Cementation Skanska

senior planning engineer

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Sam Blanchard

Sam is a civil engineering graduate from the University of Bath, currently working for Cementation Skanska as a senior planning engineer. She has been at Cementation for three and half years, gaining experience on a wide range of projects, and in 2024 received the Federation of Piling Specialists "Rising Star" award.

Sam is a member of the Skanska UK Pride network steering group, which works to improve the inclusion of LGBTQ+ employees. She has also spoken at events such as the Inspiring Women in Construction and Engineering annual conference about the experiences of neurodiverse employees in the workplace. 

Helen Franklin CEng MICE

Helen Franklin CEng MICE

retired

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Helen Franklin CEng MICE

Helen’s early work experience was in contracting, during her time as an undergraduate on a Civil Engineering sandwich degree at Loughborough University. The rest of her career was spent in local government in the Leicestershire and Leeds areas, starting off training under agreement and finishing as Head of Highways Services, running an in-house client, consultant and contracting organisation.

She has been retired for over ten years but remains active within the ICE, helping to deliver a programme of events for the retired members group. Always an advocate of encouraging everyone to reach their maximum potential, she brings to the panel a view on how things have changed over five decades.

Prab Riat

Prab Riat

Think Fast Collective

chartered civil engineer

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Prab Riat

Prab Riat is a chartered civil engineer with over a decade of experience delivering complex rail infrastructure projects across the UK. She’s also a professional improviser and founder of Think Fast Collective, which brings improv-based training into workplaces to strengthen communication, boost collaboration, and build more confident, inclusive teams.

Her path (from the practical demands of construction sites to the dynamic energy of rehearsal rooms) offers a unique lens on fostering inclusion, psychological safety, and supporting early career development across the industry. 

For more information please contact:

Joanne Topping