There are many reasons to engage with the public on by communicating who we are, what we are trying to do and importantly, why we are doing it.
Firstly, as well as inspiring school children and young people into an exciting and rewarding career in civil engineering, we need to make sure parents, teachers and other influencers know about what we do so they see civil engineering as an attractive career choice.
Secondly, we need to help the public understand the benefits of that civil engineering brings to society, and the advantages of long-term investment in infrastructure. This will help address the public's concerns about the financial cost of local and national infrastructure projects, as well as explaining the long-term benefits of projects that cause disruptions to their lives during the construction phase.
How you can get involved
One of the ways we use our website to engage and inform the public is through our 'What is civil engineering' section.
We use these pages to inspire the public, not only through showcasing great feats of civil engineering, but also by telling the stories of our inspiring members.
We aim to show that civil engineering is a career that is open to all regardless of background.
We are keen to showcase as wide a range of our members as possible, showing the variety of roles available and allowing readers to find someone who they relate to.
A simple yet effective way to help us spread the word about civil engineering is through submitting your story for a what is civil engineering profile.
Social media helps us to extend our reach beyond just the engineering community.
ICE's social media channels are followed by thousands of individuals, groups and companies.
By engaging with our LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook accounts you help us spread the word even further and in return we can raise the profile of your posts.
Seeing engineers in the news talking about issues that affect them is an important way to engage the public and make them aware of how we’re improving their lives and tackling some of the challenges of our time, such as climate change.
The ICE is often approached by media outlets who want to hear from experts to about various topics such as flooding, energy and transport. From responses to government policy announcements to providing overviews on major project developments – ensuring the public are being given the right information is essential.
Should you be approached to represent ICE by a media outlet, please get in touch with our Press Office.
ICE is continually building up its network of specialist spokespersons
If you are interested in becoming a recognised media spokesperson, then please get in touch with us. If we agree that you’d be a suitable spokesperson we will ensure you are trained and understand how best to deal with the media and journalists. Being a spokesperson requires you to be competent and confident in talking about your specialist knowledge area and sometimes be available at relatively short-notice.
Tell us your thoughts
If you would like to tell the community about a project you have worked on, a current issue affecting the industry or new up and coming ideas for the future of civil engineering, get in touch and you could write for us.
Ready to help spread the word?
If you would like to take part in any of the above activities and excite people about your profession, or you would like to know other ways you could get involved, then we would love to hear from you.
