Every year the ICE President chooses some of the brightest and most motivated graduate and technician members to be on the Future Leaders Scheme.
This popular and highly competitive scheme has been running since 2005.
It gives student members on degree apprenticeships, graduate members, and technician members a unique opportunity to gain experience, develop skills, and learn about the industry.
Future Leaders meet and engage with senior engineering professionals, getting invaluable insight into industry development while also becoming part of the Presidents’ Future Leaders Alumni network.
Benefits of the scheme
The President's Future Leader Scheme has many benefits - not just for you but also for your employer and ICE.
The scheme is a fantastic opportunity for up and coming engineers and technicians to enhance their personal development, increase their confidence, and boost their career by learning from industry leaders and working on projects that shape the profession.
Accelerate early career development
Mentored by the President
Meet senior civil engineering professionals
Learn more about the industry and ICE
Get experience outside a normal work environment
Develop new skills and improve existing ones
Attend important ICE events
The scheme provides a unique platform for employers to accelerate the development of their future leaders.
It also creates opportunities to raise the profile of those employers – highlighting their commitment to the profession and increasing their reputation as an employer of choice.
Build a reputation for employing talented, young and qualified engineers
Benefit from a more skilful, confident and well-rounded employee
The scheme allows ICE an insight into the thinking and ambitions of the upcoming generation.
It sustains the President's Future Leaders Alumni network, a small but influential group of engineers that provide a unique cross-generation perspective on the profession.
And it helps ICE to showcase the talents of the next generation of industry leaders.
Meet this year's Future Leaders
This year ICE President, Jim Hall's, Future Leaders will be working on a variety of projects.
The Future Leaders choose to work on their choice of projects, which are integral to ICE’s business plan and will have an impact on the industry.
Jim, through shortlisting and video interviews, chose the following six candidates to be his Future Leaders for the year.
In addition to working alongside ICE staff members on the project, they will be spending some quality time with Jim.
Ellie is looking forward to engaging with industry experts and working on initiatives to address current industry challenges, contributing to sustainable development and engineering a better future.
She is also excited to explore how as an institution we can continue to inspire the next generation of engineers, ensuring we have a diverse workforce to solve the problems of the future.
Participating in the scheme will develop her understanding of the workings of the institution and the industry as a whole, accelerating her career.
Helen is excited to have this unique perspective into the ICE, to learn more about the ICE’s current projects and help shape the future.
She is looking forward to working with, and learning from, Jim Hall and her fellow future leaders, as she’s sure they'll have many interesting ideas and discussions about how they continue to deliver infrastructure.
She can't wait to dive into the new opportunities and challenges this year will bring and to meet lots more people along the way.
Being chosen as one of Jim Hall’s Future Leaders is a great honour and Kathryn is looking forward to contributing meaningfully to the institution and the industry as a whole.
This year presents a great opportunity for her personal and professional development and she is excited to gain a more in-depth understanding of the country’s infrastructure systems and how they can improve them to become more sustainable and resilient in the face of a changing climate.
It is a privilege to be chosen as one of the President’s Future Leaders and Rhys is looking forward to working with Professor Jim Hall, the ICE, and wider industry stakeholders to tackle key issues facing our sector.
By contributing to ICE’s strategic projects, he aims to support the Institution’s mission to drive positive change whilst exploring how we plan the infrastructure needed for a sustainable future.
This exciting opportunity will provide invaluable learning experiences that he will treasure throughout my career.
Romilly is excited to collaborate with Jim Hall and her fellow future leaders to drive positive industry transformations and shape strategic decisions.
By fostering a culture of challenging norms and nurturing the next generation of civil engineers, we can advance our industry towards greater resilience and sustainability, significantly contributing to the UN SDGs.
The chance to learn from industry leaders, partake in impactful projects, is a fantastic opportunity to enrich her professional and personal development for years to come.
Sam feels that this coming year presents an exciting time to be one of Jim Hall’s Future Leaders - particularly with infrastructure being a key enabler in achieving the new UK government’s missions.
He is most looking forward to being exposed to a wide range of people and projects, as well as having the opportunity to collaborate with leaders across industry to address some of society’s biggest challenges.
This scheme will also provide a great opportunity to benefit from vast learning experiences to further my personal and professional growth as both a civil engineer and policy professional.
Previous Apprentices and Future Leaders
The Presidents’ Apprentices and Future Leaders have delivered on a wide range of initiatives for ICE and the profession since the scheme was first set up.
President Gordon Masterton launched the President's Apprentice scheme in 2005. Looking back in 2017, he commented: "when we started the scheme, one of the great attractions to me was that it was a bit edgy, a bit radical, to have a group of young people placed so close to the President, with influence". That edge remains and successive Presidents have brought in their own Apprentices to help them during their year in office.
Professor Lord Robert Mair rebadged the scheme "President's Future Leaders" in 2017 to recognise their long-term potential – with the scheme's energy and vitality continuing as before.
Anusha Shah's Future Leaders
2023-24
Left to right: Alexis Solomou, Sayid Salim (seated), Elena Lindsey, Nusayba Abaas, Anusha Shah, Evita Widjaja, Ramsha Saleem, Aimee Jones (seated), Marcus Rodin
Anusha’s Future Leaders worked on their own project.
Who they are:
Aimee Jones works at Mott MacDonald in the South East
Alexis Solomou works at Arcadis in London
Elena Lindsey works for the Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
Evita Widjaja works at AtkinsRéalis in the South East
Marcus Rodin works at AtkinsRéalis in London
Nusayba Abaas works at Balfour Beatty in London
Ramsha Saleem works at WSP in London
Sayid Salim works at Arup in London
What they did:
Anusha’s Future Leaders worked on creating a dynamic platform that would bring nature-based solutions (NBS) into the mainstream by bringing the engineering and financial communities together.
The proposed platform would comprise of three key parts:
Project Profile Database – centralised database featuring project profiles for NBS, providing an evidence database to support business cases for NBS investment and implementation.
NBS Collab Hub – anonymous lessons learnt reporting around NBS to share key learning from across the industry at all stages of the project lifecycle and to drive continuous improvement.
AI Literature Assistant – utilising generative AI to provide policy, academic and industry literature and guidance recommendations that have a focus on infrastructure projects. It will also have the capability to draw out information from the Project Profile Database and the NBS Collab Hub.
The platform would empower industry professionals by providing easy access to policies, project data, and industry tools. It would be a central hub for active NBS knowledge sharing. It would provide a robust evidence base, supporting NBS business cases for long-term investor value, with a particular focus on attracting private sector investment. It would create a community with a shared interest in NBS and motivate the public and wider society to engage with these types of NBS projects.
The platform would aim to tackle the challenge of lack of recognition of long-term value and uncertainty of NBS. It would also try to address issues around the lack of quantitative valuation compared to grey solutions. It would try to prevent NBS being implemented in pockets. It would tackle the skills and knowledge gap and lack of community engagement. It would encourage industry partners to collaborate and private sector partners to invest in NBS.
They undertook literature reviews to ascertain the effectiveness of any existing programmes; liaised with many subject matter experts ranging from engineers, nature and biodiversity specialists to social value leads; consulted with peer and more senior groups; and spoke to the Green Construction Board.
Left to right: Rachel Hayden, Svetlana Joao, Blake Scott, Lucy Davison, Keith Howells, Kyle McLean, Benjamin Delmond, Rohinee Pattani
Keith’s Future Leaders worked on projects linked to the Institution’s Business Plan and their own project raising awareness of how the UN SDGs link into everyday civil engineering work.
Who they are:
Benjamin Delmond works at Jacobs in Ireland
Blake Scott works at WSP in the North East
Kyle McLean works at Mott MacDonald in the East of England
Lucy Davison works for Systra UK in the North East
Rachel Hayden works for WSP in the South West
Rohinee Pattani works for Atkins Realis in London
Svetlana Joao works for TYPSA UK in London
What they did:
Keith’s Future Leaders developed their own tool to raise awareness of how the UNSDGs link into everyday civil engineering work. They undertook literature reviews to ascertain the effectiveness of any existing programmes; liaised with working groups and stakeholders; developed a survey and learnt from its results; consulted with peer groups and more senior groups; spoke to UKIB; and met with the UN. The tool developed should be used throughout the life of a project.
In addition to this, they also joined one of the Institution’s Community Advisory Boards. This meant that they were embedded into the core knowledge programme linked to the Institution’s Business Plan, which ensured that the talents and energies of the Future Leaders were aligned directly with the work of the Institution.
Community Advisory Boards (CABs) identify problems and challenges faced by engineers, the environment, and society and drive the production of trusted, authoritative, independent insight into the major issues facing the industry. The CABs provide direction to creating engaging digital knowledge programmes for ICE members and identify gaps in knowledge or dissemination and propose the creation of new professional or knowledge networks to fill them.
Rohinee and Svetlana joined the Data & Digital Community Advisory Board. This CAB is focused on advancing better solutions through the exploitation of data and digital solutions.
Rohinee and Kyle joined the Low Carbon Energy Community Advisory Board. This CAB is looking at the provision of and promotion of access to low carbon energy. Kyle also joined the Water & Sanitation Community Advisory Board. This CAB is focusing on advancing water and sanitation solutions.
Blake and Rachel joined the Sustainable Resilient Infrastructure Community Advisory Board. The remit of this CAB is to address infrastructure resilience and its mitigation and adaption to the significant effects of climate change. Blake also joined the virtual work experience project. This project was to develop ICE’s first work experience programme to inspire students to think about a career in civil engineering. The digital programme provided students with a range of information and experience aimed at enabling them to understand what’s involved in a career in civil engineering. Rachel also joined the CPD Framework project. This project focussed on reviewing the existing CPD framework, researching, and developing new content for the new iteration of the framework.
Benjamin and Lucy joined the Decarbonisation Advisory Board. The remit of this CAB is to place the decarbonisation of the industry at the heart of the agenda. Benjamin also joined the Flooding CAB, which is focusing on advancing flooding solutions. Lucy also joined the Productivity Community Advisory Board, which focuses on driving productivity through modern methods of procurement and delivery.
They also went on a site visit to HS2 organised by Svetlana.
Left to right: Kristina Dahyaraj, Emma Wei, Lara Lightfoot, Panagiotis Stratos, Pete Simmons, Ed McCann, Rhona Kerr, Karina Augustine, Asil Zaidi.
Ed’s Future Leaders worked on projects linked to the Institution’s Business Plan.
Who they are:
Asil Zaidi worked at London Bridge Associates Ltd in London
Emma Wei worked at Mott MacDonald in the South East
Karina Augustine worked at COWI UK in London
Kristina Dahyaraj was working with Skanska in London
Lara Lightfoot worked for BAM Nuttall in Yorkshire and Humber
Panagiotis Stratos worked for SNC Lavalin Atkins in Wales
Pete Simmons worked for Balfour Beatty in the West Midlands
Rhona Kerr worked for Buro Happold in the North West
What they did:
Ed’s Future Leaders joined one of the Community Advisory Boards. This meant that they embedded into the core knowledge programme linked to the Institution’s Business Plan, which ensured that the talents and energies of the Future Leaders were aligned directly with the work of the Institution.
Whilst moving back to a greater sense of normality after the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, there was still an element of uncertainty surrounding events. Therefore, Ed’s Future Leaders were able to participate in both physical and online events.
Ed McCann’s Future Leaders 2021-22
The Community Advisory Boards (CABs) were established to identify problems and challenges faced by engineers, the environment and society and to drive the production of trusted, authoritative, independent insight into the major issues facing the industry.
The CABs provide direction to creating engaging digital knowledge programmes for ICE members. In addition, the CABs identify gaps in knowledge or dissemination and propose the creation of new professional or knowledge networks to fill them.
Asil, Emma, and Panagiotis joined the Data & Digital Community Advisory Board. This CAB is focused on advancing better solutions through the exploitation of data and digital solutions.
Karina joined the Community Advisory Board which was focused on water. This CAB is looking at transforming the availability of potable water and sanitation solutions.
Kristina joined the Climate Resilience Advisory Board. The remit of this CAB is to work with others to mitigate and provide resilience to the significant effects of climate change.
Lara joined the Transport Community Advisory Board. The remit of this CAB is to focus on mobility and access to safe and affordable transport.
Panagiotis also joined the Geotechnical and Structures Community Advisory Board.
Panagiotis and Pete joined the Low Carbon Energy Community Advisory Board. This CAB is looking at the provision of and promotion of access to low carbon energy.
Rhona joined the Decarbonisation Advisory Board. The remit of this CAB is to place the decarbonisation of the industry at the heart of the agenda.
All of them joined the Productivity CAB, which was focussed on driving productivity through modern methods of procurement and delivery including advocating for a systems-engineering approach and Project13 style thinking.
The Productivity CAB also produced this year’s State of the Nation report “Improving Infrastructure Productivity”. The aim for the State of the Nation was to produce a practical and user-friendly guide backed by best practice case studies for civil engineers to transform infrastructure productivity while delivering carbon reduction goals.
It focuses on what civil engineers can do to make sure infrastructure projects are i) more effective: maximising a much wider range of benefits to people around the world, and ii) more efficient: delivering that value with fewer resources and eliminating waste wherever it is found.
The State of the Nation also introduces the Infrastructure Lifecycle Guidance – a new toolkit from the ICE that allows professionals to pinpoint advice on boosting productivity tailored to their role at every stage of a project.
Left to right: Cliff Francis, Rachel Skinner, Bianca Wheeler, Tondup Wangail (on screen), Rachel Hopson (on screen), Kaye Pollard, Micheala Chan
Rachel’s Future Leaders worked on projects linked to the Institution’s Business Plan.
Who they are:
Bianca Wheeler worked at Jacobs for SCS Railways in London
Cliff Francis worked at NMCN and then Balfour Beatty in the South West
Kaye Pollard worked at Mott MacDonald in the East of England
Micheala Chan worked at Arcadis in the South East
Rachel Hopson worked at Wood Thilsted Partners in London
Tondu Wangail worked at WSP in India
What they did:
Rachel’s Future Leaders joined one of the newly formed Community Advisory Boards. This meant that they embedded into the core knowledge programme linked to the Institution’s Business Plan, which ensured that the talents and energies of the Future Leaders were aligned directly with the work of the Institution.
As the coronavirus pandemic continued into Rachel’s presidential year, all group meetings (apart from the last one), regional presidential visits, and events were online. This did enable the Future Leaders to participate in many visits and events, including international ones.
Teams meeting
The Community Advisory Boards (CABs) were established to identify problems and challenges faced by engineers, the environment and society and to drive the production of trusted, authoritative, independent insight into the major issues facing the industry. The CABs provide direction to creating engaging digital knowledge programmes for ICE members. In addition, the CABs identify gaps in knowledge or dissemination and propose the creation of new professional or knowledge networks to fill them.
Rachel joined the Community Advisory Board which was focused on technical excellence. The remit of this CAB is to enhance the technical knowledge, insight, and ethical understanding of engineers wherever they work across the world, through a lessons-learned programme.
Cliff joined the Data & Digital Community Advisory Board. This CAB is focused on advancing better solutions through the exploitation of data and digital solutions.
Micheala joined the Community Advisory Board which was focused on water. This CAB is looking at transforming the availability of potable water and sanitation solutions.
Tondup joined the Climate Community Advisory Board. The remit of this CAB is to place the decarbonisation of the industry at the heart of the agenda and work with others to mitigate and provide resilience to the significant effects of climate change.
Kaye joined the Community Advisory Board which was focused on Procurement. This CAB is focussed on transforming the productivity of the industry by driving modern methods of procurement and manufacture.
Bianca joined the Transport Community Advisory Board. The remit of this CAB is to focus on mobility and access to safe and affordable transport.
Left to right: Tim Hou, Hayley Jackson, Joseph Marner, Paul Sheffield, Louise Hetherington, Holly Smith, Chris Landsburgh
Paul’s Future Leaders worked on projects linked to the Institution’s Business Plan.
Who they are:
Chris Landsburgh worked at Wills Bros Civil Engineering Ltd in Scotland
Hayley Jackson worked at Vinci Taylor Woodrow in the East Midlands
Holly Smith worked at Skanska in London
Joseph Marner worked at WSP in London
Louise Hetherington worked for Atkins in the South West
Tim Hou worked for Mott MacDonald in London
What they did:
Paul’s Future Leaders worked on some of the Institution’s strategic projects linked to the Institution’s Business Plan. This ensured that the talents and energies of the Future Leaders were aligned directly with the work of the Institution.
Unfortunately, the coronavirus pandemic hit five months into Paul’s presidential year. This meant an immediate stop to activities and events whilst everyone adjusted to solely online working and visits. The efforts of the staff and members were applauded by Paul as online regional presidential visits began again in May. The move to online visits did mean that the Future Leaders were able to participate in the international presidential visits as well as those in taking place in the UK.
Teams meeting
Hayley worked on the Future Skills & Work 4.0 project, which morphed into the Engineering Rebellion campaign. Hayley was a panellist in the Engineering Rebellion strategy session. She also got involved with SoN workstream one which focussed on capability building in low carbon design and delivery. And was a panellist for an International Women in Engineering Day event.
Holly and Chris worked on the State of the Nation (SoN) report – Infrastructure and the 2050 net zero target. The final section of the report introduced three workstreams. These workstreams meant that there would be outcomes and actions for individuals as well. Following the publication of the SoN, Holly and Chris got involved with three workstreams. The workstreams fed into the carbon project.
Tim chose to work on the Sustainability Route Map, which was aimed at transforming the way engineers interacted with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Tim also joined one of the SoN workstreams. Additionally, he got involved with an international project that was reviewing the requirements for accrediting ICE knowledge in America and Canada. Tim also worked on the David Butler Award project, which was the development of an interactive competition for school students aged 16-18 year olds to provide a valuable insight into civil engineering.
Louise and Joe worked on the Policy Insight Events. They supported the work of the Policy Team in hosting and contributing to policy roundtable events and All-Party Parliamentary Group on Infrastructure events. Both Joe and Louise joined the covid-19 recovery steering group. This group focussed on how covid-19 had affected the industry and the response to it, which was turned into a white paper. Louise also, with significant support from Joe, participated in the Graduate Voting Rights debate.
All of them contributed to an article written halfway through the year detailing the activities they have taken part in. They also took part in an online discussion about the scheme and why they applied.
In selecting his Future Leaders, Andrew was looking for individuals that were making a change or recognised the need for affecting change within the industry. He asked applicants to submit their idea or concept that would change the industry for the better. His chosen Future Leaders had the opportunity to develop their idea with guidance from senior industry figures.
The 2018-19 President's Future Leaders:
Alex Backhouse worked for Atkins in London
Bryn Noble worked for WSP in the South West
Emma Watkins worked for Skanska in London
Eric Leung worked for AECOM in Hong Kong
Monika Szczyrba worked for Stantec in Wales
Left to right: Emma Watkins, Eric Leung, Bryn Noble, Andrew Wyllie, Alex Backhouse, Monika Szczyrba
What they did:
Andrew’s Future Leaders worked on their own projects. They were appointed earlier than usual, as Andrew wanted them to feature on video in his Presidential Address. Their video focused on what drove them as a civil engineer.
Alex wanted to change the construction industry’s attitude to water. He wanted to develop a framework for water management in construction, which would link into the National Infrastructure Commission’s resilience target of 4000 mega litres of water a day to assure a reliable long-term supply, as set out in the report “Preparing for a Drier Future”. Alex decided to widen the scope of his project to concentrate on persuading the Institution to include sustainability as one of its core values and be the golden thread through all its actions. Following the change in scope of his project, Alex was invited to become involved with the State of the Nation Net Zero report.
Bryn’s project focussed on loneliness in cities and urban areas. His aim was for the industry to move towards employing the use of interconnected data systems to lessen the impact of loneliness on society and vulnerable groups. In 2018, the UK Government produced its policy on tackling loneliness, delivered by the world’s first UK Minister for Loneliness Tracey Crouch. The policy stated the way community spaces, buildings, transport infrastructure, and future mobility were designed would have a direct impact on tackling loneliness. Bryn recognised that civil engineers must lead on this. Bryn was in contact with Tracey Crouch, and she endorsed the work he was doing. He joined the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Loneliness – a cross party working group to influence legislation and policy making to reduce loneliness and build on the work of the Jo Cox Commission for Loneliness.
Emma’s project was improving diversity and inclusivity within the industry. She wanted to attract more women into the industry and then retain them. The issues around equality, diversity and inclusivity are too great for any one company to solve on its own, and it was only when industry came together that this problem could be solved. She honed her project to focus on improving the visibility of existing campaigns and introduce an award for diversity in projects. Following discussions between ICE and EMAP, the British Construction Industry (BCI) Awards, in 2019, introduced the “Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Initiative of the Year”.
Eric’s project focused on promoting civil engineering and addressing the perception that civil engineering was difficult, dull, unsociable, and male-dominated. Many people don’t appreciate the full range of expertise that civil engineers bring. He wanted to demonstrate that civil engineering is an exciting and future-thinking career, which uses the “art of directing nature’s power to benefit mankind” and create the spark that would inspire the next generation. Eric built on the existing public awareness campaigns in Hong Kong.
Monika’s passion was to bring real value to communities through civil engineering work. Her project sought to shape and embed good practice in community engagement to deliver more efficient and sustainable projects. It aimed to create a step change in the way in which the industry interacted with the public, thus delivering better outcomes for the industry, government and public. Her project focussed on improving public and community engagement through the entirety of civil engineering projects. The issue was difficult to quantify financially, but with the assistance of case studies and comparisons, it was possible to equate the impact of project delays with the increase of costs. The project focused on the production of the best practice guidance on community engagement methods.
Professor Lord Robert Mair rebadged the scheme "President's Future Leaders" in 2017 to recognise the long-term potential of the people involved. The scheme's energy and vitality continued as before.
The 2017/18 President's Future Leaders:
Asif Huq worked for Transport Scotland in Scotland
Ayo Sokale worked for the Environment Agency in the South East
Charlotte Murphy worked for Arup in London
Louisa Ferguson worked for Waterco Consultants in the North West
Max Ng worked for MTR Corporation in Hong Kong
Meghan Fick worked for Arup in Northern Ireland
Simone Schmieder worked for Wood Thilsted in Londo
Will Lavelle worked for Atkins in London
Left to right: Asif Huq, Louisa Ferguson, Ayo Sokale, Simone Schmieder, Lord Robert Mair, Max Ng, Meghan Fick, Charlotte Murphy, Will Lavelle
What they did:
Robert’s Future Leaders worked on some of the Institution’s strategic projects linked to the Institution’s business plan. This ensured that the talents and energies of the Future Leaders were aligned directly with the work of the Institution. The Future Leaders accompanied Robert on his regional presidential visits. They also had a group visit to the Laing O’Rourke Ferrovial Agroman Thames Tideway site.
Laing O’Rourke Ferrovial Agroman Thames Tideway site
Asif and Ayo worked on the State of the Nation 2018 Investment report. This strategic policy document set out how funding and finance flow across sectors to support the capital and revenue needs of the infrastructure system. Ayo also worked on the In Plain Sight report and was part of the competence working group. Asif also worked on the Scottish State of the Nation report, which involved evidence gathering and report writing.
Charlotte and Will chose to work on Project 13. This is an industry led initiative to outline and establish a better business model for infrastructure delivery, improving productivity, performance and mitigating the skills risk. The aspect of Project 13 that Charlotte worked on was the blueprint for the future of the industry. It concentrated on why there was a need to change and then how the changes should be made. Will worked on the Project 13 roadmap. The roadmap outlined the way to get from the “now” to the “where we ought to be”.
Louisa worked on the “sharing good practice to promote the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs)” project. This work was part of the Energy Resilience and Climate Change campaign. She also had a key role at the Global Engineering Congress.
Max worked on raising public awareness of civil engineering in Hong Kong. Given it was the bicentenary year, there were several new public outreach initiatives, which Max took advantage of. He organised a series of events throughout the year. He also played a pivotal role in the creation and displaying of the Hong Kong Lego Bridge, which was sponsored by AECOM. The year cumulated with a two-week exhibition about civil engineering in City Gallery, which around 7,000 people visited.
Meghan opted for the “engaging sixth-form students” project. This programme was set up specifically to target increasing the numbers of people studying civil engineering at university. It built on the existing STEM ambassador activities and used the Tomorrow’s Engineers data to target schools more effectively.
Simone’s project was to support the work of the Infrastructure Risk Group (IRG). This was an expert group supported by ICE that advised the UK Government in ways to better manage the planning and delivery of large-scale infrastructure projects.
Here’s their video explaining the highlights of the year and what the scheme meant to them.
Tim’s Apprentices worked on projects linked to the Institution’s Business Plan.
The 2016/17 President's Apprentices:
Abigail Fryett worked for Wood Group Mustang in the South East
Brittany Harris worked for Buro Happold in the South West
Ching Fai Tan worked for AECOM in Malaysia
Daniel O’Neill worked for CH2M in the UAE
Eleanor Earl worked for Arup in London
Jonathan Smith worked for Cundall in the North East
Paul Chambers worked for Skanska in London
Sorrella Smith worked for Laing O’Rourke in London
Left to right back row: Daniel O’Neill, Eleanor Earl, Ching Fai Tan, Sorrella Smith, Jonathan Smith, Abigail Fryett Front row: Paul Chambers, Tim Broyd, Brittany Harris
What they did:
Like Sir John’s Apprentices, four of Tim’s Apprentices worked on the Institution’s strategic projects, as outlined in its business plan. The other four worked on their own projects, which aligned with one of the main themes of the Institution.
The Apprentices accompanied Tim on his regional presidential visits. Sorrella also arranged a group visit to the Laing O’Rourke’s DfMA factory, which uses digital engineering to pre-fabricate reinforced concrete elements that can be shipped to the site.
Tim and his apprentices on a site visit
Abigail and Jonathan applied to work on the National Needs Assessment (NNA) project. This was follow-on work after the publication of the NNA in October. Jonathan worked on the “Delivering a Northern Infrastructure Strategy” report. Abigail worked on ICE response to the Government’s “Building Our Industrial Strategy” green paper. She also conducted research and prepared case studies for the Heat Networks project, which focused on decarbonising heat.
Brittany focussed on raising the profile of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). Her work helped ICE focus on the ways civil engineers can take them from aspirational targets to implementation. Brittany helped promote best practice as part of the Energy Resilience and Climate Change campaign.
Ching Fai also worked on a bespoke project. He wanted to help ICE increase its presence in Malaysia. He identified student chapters as a natural starting point and collated information about different student chapters and their activities to identify best practice. Ching Fai also joined Tim on the presidential visit to Hong Kong, which enabled him to learn first-hand about the graduate and student committee model there. He also helped organise the 11th Brunel International Lecture Series event in Singapore.
Paul and Eleanor worked on the State of the Nation 2017 Digital Transformation report. This focused on how advances in technology and data processing could be harnessed to revolutionise the design and delivery of infrastructure. Following the publication of the State of the Nation in March, they worked on the joint ICE/National Infrastructure Commission Artificial Intelligence thought leadership event and were involved in with Project 13 and promoting digital best practice.
Sorrella and Daniel worked on a bespoke joint project which focussed on digital engineering in Dubai. This combined Sorrella’s role with Daniel’s location. They wanted to raise the profile and understanding of the benefits of digital engineering within the country, by organising an event to share the latest thinking coming from the UK. Their project cumulated in a Digital Engineering event in Dubai, which was a great success. The innovative format of the event was a hit and was replicated on subsequent occasions by the local team.
Tim’s Apprentices were also pivotal to the change of the name of the scheme from President’s Apprentices to President’s Future Leaders. They felt that the use of the term “Apprentice” was misleading, given the introduction of the apprenticeship levy and the increased awareness about apprentices and apprenticeships. Tim took their views to the incoming President, Professor Lord Robert Mair, and the Director General, who agreed the name change and that it would be introduced by Professor Lord Robert Mair.
Sir John’s Apprentices worked on projects linked to the Institution’s Business Plan.
The 2015/16 President's Apprentices:
Aaron Matthew worked for TfL in London
Alex Crump worked for Devon County Council in the South West
Emma Galley worked for Skanska in the North West
Michelle Hicks worked for WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff in the East of England
Musa Chunge worked for Flint and Neill in London
Nick Thorley worked for Sellafield in the North West
Sam Hewlings worked for UnPS in London
Left to right back row: Alex Crump, Sir John Armitt, Sam Hewlings Front row: Nick Thorley, Musa Chunge, Emma Galley, Aaron Matthew (Missing: Michelle Hicks)
What they did:
This year, rather than work on a project set by the President, the Apprentices worked on some of the Institution’s strategic projects, as outlined in its business plan. This ensured that the talents and energies of the Apprentices were aligned directly with the work of the Institution. The Apprentices worked with staff leads on a project of their choosing. Sir John supported and encouraged them but did not manage any of the projects directly.
The Apprentices accompanied Sir John on his regional presidential visits. Sir John also arranged a visit to the Laing O’Rourke’s Centre of Excellence for Modern Construction (CEMC).
Sir John Armitt's Apprentices
Aaron worked on the development of the “This is Civil Engineering” public awareness campaign. The aim was to increase public awareness of civil engineering projects and improve employer/client engagement with the campaign. Additionally, he came up with the concept of the Pitch180 competition - a new competition for ICE members to take on the challenge of explaining an aspect of civil engineering in just 180 seconds. During the ICE200 celebrations in 2018, the concept was adapted to reflect the milestone anniversary and became Pitch200. The competition continues today.
Alex and Emma worked on the Station of the Nation (SoN) 2016 report, which focused on devolution. They were part of the core steering group that produced the SoN.
Michelle worked on a project to raise the profile of civil engineering and the Institution through vlogging and social media. Aaron helped with this work as it aligned with his project.
Musa opted to work on the International Project – a research project about the Middle East. The focus was to better understand the market conditions within the region, with a particular focus on the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman, and to understand the appetite for a tailor-made partnership offer. He also accompanied ICE staff to undertake a field research trip in the region.
Nick worked on the “Representing the next generation on the Engineering Collection working group” project. This focussed on transforming how ICE created and disseminated knowledge and how to make infrastructure and civil engineering more attractive to the next generation. The project was based around bringing the stories and information contained within the ICE archives to life in an informing, engaging and educational way.
Sam originally worked on a project aimed at attracting more young people into civil engineering. However, his true passion lay within diversity and inclusivity, so he changed projects to work with the ICE ED&I lead to investigate ways to increase diversity in the industry. He also joined the Institution’s Fairness Inclusion Respect (FIR) Committee.
David’s Apprentices designed and developed a report to encourage innovation within the industry. It outlines why innovation is important in the industry, gives recommendations and provides innovation checklists for different groups of people.
The 2014/15 President's Apprentices:
Beth Barnes worked for AMEC E&I UK Ltd in the North East
Jo Huett worked for Eurovia UK Ltd in the South East
Michelle Roche worked for Laing O’Rourke in London
Peter Coppenhall worked for Morgan Sindall in the West Midlands
Philippa Jefferies worked for Amey in the South East
Sophie McPhillips worked for Atkins in the South West
Takomborerawa Hove worked for URS in Scotland
Left to right back row: Peter Coppenhall, Jo Huett, Tako Hove, Michelle Roche, Beth Barnes, Philippa Jeffries
What they did:
David set his Apprentices a specific task – identify and communicate ways in which the industry can improve/increase innovation. David and his Apprentices believed that the construction industry could meet the challenges of the future through innovation.
The manufacturing, pharmaceutical and technology sectors all boast reputations as leaders of innovation, yet the construction industry lags behind. Were these industries doing something different, or has construction just not seen the same opportunities? The UK Construction Industry was moving forward under a joint strategy with the UK government, Construction 2025, to transform the industry into a global leader by reducing costs, improving delivery time frames, and reducing carbon within construction. To achieve these goals innovation has vital role to play.
Transforming construction was about more than just changing what we build. It was also about the way that we think about our problems and turn them into projects. Diverse teams, flexible project scopes and support from the top were all ways that we could encourage fresh, creative thinking and drive innovation.
To make the project manageable the year was split into quarters. In the first quarter, the Apprentices focussed on answering the question “where does innovation come from?”. The second quarter concentrated on the blockers to innovation. In the third quarter, the Apprentices looked at the opportunities for innovation. And in the last quarter, they answered the question “how to unlock innovation”. They looked at each area from a capacity (technology/technical aspect, processes) and capability (the human dimension, working practices, individual’s abilities) view. They always kept the bigger picture in mind.
The Apprentices also considered three key questions:
What would it take for me to innovate more?
What would it take for my company to innovate more?
What would it take for my clients to innovate more?
They conducted interviews with key industry and non-industry individuals, people from within their companies, and their peers. They also considered organisations and clients that do innovate and those that don’t. In both instances, they looked within and out with of the construction industry.
The final report looked at the culture of our industry and set outs the building blocks that will help individuals, teams, businesses, CEOs, government, clients, and institutions deliver value through innovation.
Geoff's Apprentices focussed on inspiring the next generation of engineers.
The 2013/14 President's Apprentices:
Aimi Elias worked for Transport for London in London
Christopher North worked for Morgan Sindall in London
Helen Macadam worked for Network Rail in London
Jamie Radford worked for Mott MacDonald in the East of England
Joe Smith worked for Arup in London
Melanie Ogden worked for Transport for London in London
Michael Wedderburn worked for Interserve Construction in the West Midlands
Sivasakthy Selvakumaran worked for Ramboll in the South East
Left to right back row: Joe Smith, Helen Macadam, Melanie Ogden, Chris North, Sivasakthy Selvakumaran, Aimi Elias, Geoff French, Michael Wedderburn (Missing: Jamie Radford)
What they did:
Geoff's Apprentices focussed on inspiring the next generation of engineers.
Geoff challenged Chris and Jamie to think about ways to encourage students aged 17 and 18 to continue with science and maths subjects and how the industry could avoid losing 40% of engineering graduates after graduation. They found that many of the issues with the profession lay around the lack of understanding about what civil engineers do. Better informed and consistent careers information, advice, and guidance for all ages that promoted the diversity of engineering careers available and the variety of routes in would help. The perception of engineering careers and civil engineering needed to be improved and the relevance of engineering to modern-day life fully explain.
Melanie and Helen produced a paper for Geoff with their thoughts about better informing teachers and parents about the role of civil engineers. One idea was to provide lesson plans and resources to teachers about civil engineering. There was a lot of information already in existence under a generic Royal Academy of Engineering’s brand of “Tomorrow’s Engineers”. The pair found that parents had the biggest influence over teenagers and their decisions. To educate parents about the benefits of a civil engineering career, a “parents evening” style event was proposed, which would educate parents and students at the same time.
Michael and Sakthy investigated what practical steps could be taken to simplify the process to professional qualification. Their aim was to simplify the route to becoming a chartered civil engineer, by creating a training framework that is managed and regulated by ICE. They looked at other industries that had best practice in this area. However, these industries are regulated so direct comparisons were unrealistic. Within their proposed framework the aim was to simplify the route by providing tools and a number of set choices so the individual who is struggling to choose topics or areas within their work environment can have concrete guidance and a pathway to achieving chartership.
As a group, they created a video competition for members and the public to say why "I love civil engineering". The results can be viewed on the ICE YouTube channel.
Barry’s Apprentices designed and developed an ethics toolkit.
The 2012/13 President's Apprentices:
Catherine Inglesfield worked for Mott MacDonald in the East of England
Claire Gott worked for the WSP Group in the West Midlands
Conall Doherty worked for Buro Happold in the Middle East
Hayley Sharp worked for Atkins in London
Mark Sanders worked for the Halcrow Group in Wales
Richard Smith worked for Thames Water Utilities in the South East
Sanaya Kerawala worked for Mott MacDonald in London
Left to right: Conall Doherty, Hayley Sharp, Claire Gott, Mark Sanders, Barry Clarke, Sanaya Kerawala, Richard Smith, Catherine Inglesfield
What they did:
Barry’s Apprentices designed and developed an ethics toolkit. They researched members' experience of dealing with ethical issues in their working lives and developed an ethics toolkit for practising civil engineers.
“How ethics impact on engineering practice is a topic I was keen to weave through my Apprentice scheme. It’s an area that throws up many questions and challenges and I am looking forward to hearing the inspirational, innovative views of young engineers who aspire to be Apprentices. I am looking for applicants who value teamwork but aren’t afraid to show their individuality.” Barry Clarke
Click the image to access the Ethics toolkit
Richard's Apprentices created the ICE photo competition. The competition still runs today and has helped ICE build-up a large portfolio of images to promote civil engineering.
The 2011/12 President's Apprentices:
Angela Crowther worked for Expedition Engineering in London
Caroline Traynor worked for Arup in Northern Ireland
Kieren Couch worked for Cormac in the South West
Lydia Walpole worked for Costain in the South East
Sebastian John worked for Arup in the East Midlands
Yan Zhou worked for CB&I in London
Left to right: Sebastian John, Caroline Traynor, Kieren Couch, HRH Prince of Wales, Angela Crowther, Richard Coackley, Yan Zhou, Lydia Walpole
What they did:
Each Apprentice joined Richard on at least one regional visit, attended three group meetings, had individual mentoring sessions, and shadowed him for one day during his business at ICE. Additionally, they attended the joint ICE/Halcrow lecture where Prince Charles was the keynote speaker and they had an opportunity to meet him afterwards. Over the course of the year, all Apprentices were encouraged to contribute to the development of the theme “Harnessing Energy” – specifically the energy of the ICE membership, the civil engineering industry, and our natural resources.
Richard and Keiren during the South West Presidential Visit
Caroline went on the Northern Ireland and Wales presidential visits. Lydia joined Richard on the North West and South East presidential visits. Angela attended the Yorkshire & Humber presidential visit with Richard. Sebastian went on the East Midlands and East of England presidential visits. Kieren joined Richard on the North East and South West presidential visits. Yan attended the West Midlands presidential visit.
During the first group meeting, the plan and objectives for the year were developed. The second meeting focussed on Richard’s theme for the year – “Harnessing Energy”. In addition to this, there were discussions about effective communication to engineers and the public and the best methods to use, and how to attract young civil engineers into the Institution. The idea of an ICE photo competition was discussed and developed.
The third meeting was a group mentoring session followed by the ICE/AECOM lecture. The final meeting was a review of the year with conclusions and outcomes being highlighted.
Peter’s Apprentices designed, developed, and promoted an initiative to inspire and engage young people in civil engineering. This took the form of a competition for schools. Teams from schools were asked to design a community sports venue, write a project report, design display posters, and build models of their plans. The project spanned the UK with 82 schools and over 1,000 students involved.
The 2010/11 President's Apprentices:
Chris Lloyd worked for Halcrow in the South West
Constance Chakanyuka worked for the Environment Agency in the East of England
James Bulleid worked for Costain in Wales
James O’Donnell worked for Arup in the West Midlands
Owen Jones worked for Laing O’Rourke in the North West
Paul Astle worked for Pick Everard in the East of England
Urszula Kanturska worked for Arup in London
Left to right back row: James Bullleid, Chris Lloyd, Paul Astle, James O’Donnell, Owen Jones Front row: Urszula Kanturska, Peter Hansford, Constance Chakanyuka
What they did:
Peter and his Apprentices created and developed the Create Sport Challenge.
The Create Sport Challenge was a free national competition, which showed students that Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) GCSE subjects can be engaging and fun as well as a crucial step towards a fulfilling career in engineering. It allowed year 8 students to work in teams with a built environment professional to complete a challenging project that introduced real-world problems to the classroom. The school children were guided by an industry professional as they planned, designed, and built a model of their community sports venue.
The project work involved project management skills. It also challenged the students to think about the project from an engineering perspective. They had to consider real technical, infrastructure and sustainability constraints and concerns such as transport links, flooding, energy use and generation, environment (biodiversity), and safety aspects.
The overall aim was to impress upon the students the importance of STEM curriculum options in an approachable and fun context and allow find out about career options within the realm of the built environment. The challenge was designed to stimulate students’ creative nature and to use their knowledge to encounter and overcome a range of engineering problems. It also raised their awareness of the world around them and highlighted the things that civil engineers do every day to solve problems both locally and across the world.
The project work of all school teams was assessed independently and when a school excelled, they had the chance to go to London to compete against other schools at a grand final and prize giving ceremony.
Running in parallel with the Create Sport Challenge was Create Sport Go4SET. The final six teams from the Create Sport Go4SET competition met the final six teams from the Create Sport Challenge at a grand final in One Great George Street.
Sports challenge model
Sports challenge model
Paul's Apprentices designed and developed an engineer’s toolkit for international development. It maps out appropriate responses to challenges faced in international development across the infrastructure delivery cycle.
The 2009/10 President's Apprentices:
Abiodun Akinyemi worked for Ariosh Ltd in Nigeria
Benjamin Bampoh worked for the Department of Urban Roads in Ghana
Fang Fang worked for Atkins in the North West
Fazlun Fazlee worked for WSP in London
Hung Yik Lee worked for Chun Wo Construction & Engineering Co Ltd in Hong Kong
Joe Mulligan worked for Buro Happold Consulting Engineers in New York, United States of America
Joshua Macabuag worked for Edge Structures Ltd in London
Lorna Brady worked for MWH in Scotland
Michelagh O’Neill worked for JBA Consulting in Scotland
Nicola Bailey worked for Hyder Consulting in London
Tom Wilcock worked for Arup in London
Tonderai Chakanyuka worked for Grontmij in the East of England
Left to right back row: Benjamin Bampoh, Joshua Macabuag, Fazlun Fazlee, Tom Wilcock, Joe Mulligan, Hung Yik Lee Front row: Lorna Brady, Tonderai Chakanyuka, Fang Fang, Paul Jowitt, Michelagh O’Neill, Abiodun Akinyemi, Nicola Bailey
What they did:
Paul and his Apprentices created and developed the International Development Toolkit.
The toolkit was the output of an educational and professional development initiative that sought to increase the awareness of international development amongst our young engineers. ICE works to embed sustainability competencies throughout the education and training of young engineers. Yet few graduates would have experience within the context of international development, either during their undergraduate course or early graduate employment.
The year’s programme was divided into three sessions and each focused around a workshop. One workshop took place in London, another in Durban and one at the UNESCO’s headquarters in Paris. The workshops comprised of intensive tutorials delivered by industry specialists and academics on a variety of subjects including climate change, urbanisation, water & sanitation, sustainability, development financing, corruption, and procurement.
Paul Jowitt and his apprentices
Visit to South Africa
In South Africa, the Apprentices also visited local infrastructure projects ranging in scale and sophistication, in which social aims were deemed as important as the engineering outcomes themselves. Based on that training, and with guidance from Paul, the two principal tutors (Charles Ainger and Ron Watermeyer) and many others from the world of civil engineering, the Apprentices defined the key elements of an Engineering Project Delivery Plan for International Development. The toolkit also captures the UN MDGs (Millennium Development Goals). This was a first in the civil engineering field as an open-source set of materials and ideas to help engineers plan and deliver infrastructure for international development, poverty alleviation and UN MDGs.
The toolkit is divided in four sections, mirroring project delivery planning:
Policy - Policy sets the agenda for the planning, procurement, delivery, maintenance, and disposal of infrastructure that is sustainable.
Planning - Planning links infrastructure needs to organisational objectives, policies, and strategies.
Implementation - The implementation phase is where decisions are made regarding the design, procurement, and delivery of infrastructure.
In-use - The in-use phase of the infrastructure life cycle is the longest phase of all.
About a year after Paul’s Presidential year, he received funding from the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Ingenious Awards scheme to run a series of launch events - one in each of ICE’s 12 regions with a final event in Portcullis House hosted by Anas Sarwar MP (Member of the International Development Select Committee 2010-12 and former Deputy Leader of the Scottish Labour Party). Many of the Apprentices helped with these events. Ben Bampoh, who was from Ghana, also organised and raised the funding for a similar event in Ghana, which involved six of the overall team (three Apprentices (Ben, Abi Akinyemi, Lorna Brady), Paul and mentors Ron Watermeyer and Charles Ainger).
Jean’s Apprentices helped deliver on her core presidential themes of climate change and sustainability, and to promote engineering to local communities.
The 2008/09 President's Apprentices:
Alistair Smith worked for WSP Group in Wales
Ben Ward worked for Faber Maunsell in the South West
Blessing Gwena worked for Kier Group in London
Emer Owens worked for Lagan Construction in Northern Ireland
Lili Tao worked for Atkins Global in London
Left to right: Ben Ward, Jean Venables, Emer Owens, Blessing Gwena, Lili Tao, Alistair Smith
What they did:
All of Jean’s Apprentices attended a Council meeting individually and as a group. They also accompanied Jean on at least one regional visit. They also all had a group breakfast with Jean.
Alistair accompanied Jean on the presidential visit to Wales. There, they attended the joint ICE, IHT and CILT 9th Transport Conference. Alistair also joined Jean on the North East presidential visit during which Jean had an interview about flooding with BBC Radio Newcastle. This was followed by a walk around the main areas affected by the previous year’s flooding, which had affected more than 1000 properties. Ben joined Jean on the West of Scotland presidential visit, which included a site visit to the White Cart Water Flood Alleviation Scheme. Ben also hosted Jean at his offices in Exeter after her presidential visit to Devon and Cornwall and accompanied Jean on a trip to the Olympic Park in September to see the progress being made.
Blessing joined Jean on the East Midlands presidential visit. This included visiting Severn Trent Water’s Stoke Bardolph Education Centre and Nottingham Trent University’s School of Architecture and the Built Environment. Blessing also accompanied Jean on the East of England presidential visit which included a visit to Denver Sluice where Jean unveiled a plaque commemorating the role of civil engineers in the development and construction it. Emer accompanied Jean on the Northern Ireland presidential visit, which included a breakfast discussion at the Waterfront Hall about local infrastructure needs and a site visit to NI Roads Service’s Westlink Project; and attending the regional annual dinner where Jean was interviewed by TV journalist Noel Thompson.
Lili’s first opportunity to join Jean at a function was to attend the Graduates and Students centenary ball at ICE. This celebrated 100 years of graduates’ and students’ activities in the London. She also accompanied Jean on the presidential visit to the South East.
David’s Apprentices helped deliver on his presidential themes of unsung heroes, professionalism, procurement excellence and the value of civil engineering.
The 2007/08 President's Apprentices:
Chris Jackson worked for Arup in the West Midlands
Hayley Gryc worked for Arup in London
John Harding worked for Mott MacDonald in the North West
Kate Gower worked for White Young Green Rail in Yorkshire & Humber
Molly McKenzie worked for Severn Trent Water in the East Midlands
Siobhán Mullan worked for Ward Design in Northern Ireland
Left to right back row: Molly McKenzie, John Harding, Chris Jackson, Hayley Gryc Front row: Kate Gower, Siobhán Mullan
What they did:
All of David’s Apprentices attended an ICE Council meeting, to understand the workings of the Institution better, and provided him with their thoughts on nuclear power to help him prepare for a senior industry leaders forum on the matter.
Molly joined David on the East Midlands and Scotland presidential visits. During the Scotland visit, she gave a vote of thanks after a debate on “Scotland’s Route to Sustainable Energy”. Siobhán accompanied David on the East of England and the Northern Ireland presidential visits. During the Northern Ireland visit, Siobhán attended a group meeting led by the Minister of Finance and Personnel for the Northern Ireland Government. John went on the North West and the South West presidential visits with David. During the North West visit, he addressed a large student audience and spoke about his experiences since graduating. Hayley attended the Vice Presidents’ Dinner, which included John Armitt as the guest speaker. This enabled her to ask some very insightful questions about his role of Chair of the Olympic Delivery Authority.
Kate accompanied David on the Yorkshire & Humber and Wales presidential visits. During the Yorkshire & Humber visit, David and Kate went to the University of Bradford where students and graduates from local universities had gathered to hear David speak about his career and things that had inspired him. Kate also addressed the audience and spoke enthusiastically about her passion – the railway bridge over the Rive Worth in Keighley, which she designed and supervised on site. Chris joined David on the North East and West Midlands presidential visits. During the North East visit, Chris accompanied David on school visits and spoke to the local graduates and students committee about his experiences since graduating.
David and Molly during the East Midlands Presidential Visit at the Nottingham Flood Defence
David and Siobhán during the Northern Ireland Presidential Visit at the Belfast Sewers Project
Quentin decided to call his Apprentices “Telford Apprentices”, given it was the 250th anniversary of Telford’s birth. Also, to help strengthen the Apprentices link with their regions, the Regional Support Teams were invited to select the Apprentice from their region. Therefore, Quentin had 13 Telford Apprentices, representing each region of the UK (at that time Scotland was two regions).
The 2006/07 President's Apprentices:
Alex Feretzakis worked for Halcrow Yolles in the West of Scotland
Ben Maltby worked for White Young Green Rail in the West Midlands
Chris Jones worked for White Young Green in Yorkshire & Humber
Doug Forbes was a PhD student at the University of Dundee in the East of Scotland
James Wallace worked for Carillion in the North West
Joe Roberts worked for Scott Wilson in the East Midlands
Katerina Fytopoulou worked for Parsons Brinckerhoff in the North East
Katie Symons worked for Whitby Bird in the East of England
Patricia McElduff worked for the Northern Ireland Housing Executive in Northern Ireland
Paula Farshim worked for Hyder Consulting in the South East
Sally Walter worked for Pell Frischmann Consultants in the South West
Tim O’Brien worked for Mott MacDonald in Wales
Trina de Silva worked for the City of London in London
Left to right back row: Tim O’Brien, James Wallace, Alex Feretzakis, Katie Symons, Paula Farshim, Patricia McElduff Front row: Chris Jones, Katerina Fytopoulou, Ben Maltby, Quentin Leiper, Joe Roberts, Trina de Silva (Missing: Doug Forbes and Sally Walters)
What they did:
All the Apprentices attended the Telford Apprentice training day. This consisted of learning about the workings of the Institution and discussing various topics in breakout groups, from identifying the strengths and weaknesses in their companies’ mentoring programmes to raising the profile of chartered engineers.
Quentin set his Apprentices various tasks. These included producing a briefing note on sustainability - “Young engineers face up to delivering sustainability” - which was published in the ICE Proceedings Journal in May 2007 (volume 160 issue 2); developing mentoring guides for both mentors and mentees; and developing a jointly produced ICE-Dreamworks board game, based on the film “Flushed Away”, for primary schools to teach children about civil engineering.
Quentin and Ben during the West Midlands Presidential Visit on a canal trip with local G&S members
Quentin and Katie during the East of England Presidential Visit
One of Gordon’s initiatives for his year as President was to give seven graduate engineers the opportunity to shadow the work of the President, as a “President’s Apprentice”.
He believed that it was a great opportunity for young engineers to see the workings of the Institution first-hand and to gain valuable and different skills that may not be part of their usual career development.
The 2005/06 President's Apprentices:
Elizabeth Palfreman worked for Mowlem in the South East
Helen Whitmore worked for Carillion in the West Midlands
Jonathan Jong worked for Mott MacDonald in South East
Katharine Baker worked for Faber Maunsell in the West Midlands
Kin Yip Pang worked for Buro Happold in London
Sjouke Tolsma worked for Jacobs Babtie in South East
Steven Brown worked for Whitby Bird in London
Left to right back row: Kin Yip Pang, Steven Brown, Sjouke Tolsma, Helen Whitmore, Katharine Baker Front row: Elizabeth Palfreman, Gordon Masterton, Jonathan Jong
What they did:
Helen attended one of ICE’s prestige lectures and delivered a vote of thanks to 250 people. She later joined Gordon on a tour encompassing Keele University, Ironbridge and Portsmouth, helping with logistics and planning. Jonathan attended the Triennial Conference on ‘Safety, Security and Sustainability of the Planet’. He was asked to speak at short notice on a number of occasions and responded to the challenge with great ease. Jonathan also attended the Brunel Bicentenary Conference. Liz and Kate accompanied Gordon on his visits to Scotland and Northern Ireland, respectively. They assisted him with presentations to graduates and students, attended the Annual Dinner, and accompanied Gordon throughout the entire tour. On several occasions, they gave presentations to large groups of graduates and students, and committee members.
Kin attended a networking dinner with major employers, clients and academics addressed by Sir David King, the Government’s Chief Scientist. He gave an excellent vote of thanks at short notice. Kin also attended the South West region’s presidential visit and participated in discussions with students at Exeter and Plymouth universities and attended the Region’s Annual Dinner. Sjouke accompanied Gordon to a seminar for UK heads of civil engineering departments. She addressed them describing her overseas experience in higher education. She also joined Gordon when he met the Benevolent Fund and helped him to prepare for a meeting with the Government Chief Scientist, Sir David King.
Got any questions about the scheme?
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