3 ways you can help shape the future of your industry

In his Presidential Address, new ICE President Professor Jim Hall highlighted the incredible expertise within the membership.

It may seem an obvious point that without our members, the ICE wouldn’t exist, but your knowledge, experience, and expertise is so fundamental to the institution’s work its importance can’t be overstated.

Without your insight, we wouldn’t be able to produce papers, develop training, or react to relevant industry events.

No matter where you are in your career or professional life, there’s an opportunity for you to connect with your fellow members and contribute to how the ICE is shaping the future of civil engineering.

1. Help new civil engineers reach their goals

Become a professional reviewer

If you’ve been working as a professional engineer for several years – you probably enjoy sharing your insights and experience with more junior colleagues in the workplace.

If that’s the case, then becoming a professional reviewer could be a great opportunity.

As a professional reviewer, you will play a pivotal role in helping fellow professionals meet their goals.

As David J Stewart said, one the best things about being a reviewer is how much he learns from the process:

"The candidates I’ve met have worked in a wide range of fields and as a reviewer, I genuinely learn from them…The review process really helps to calibrate your perception of the behaviours we should expect of professional engineers."

Being a reviewer and helping others reach their professional goals is a rich and rewarding experience that also helps you keep your finger on the pulse of emerging industry themes.

Become a script marker or experiential assessor

You can gain similar benefits from being a script marker for the ICE further learning exam and an experiential learning assessor.

The ICE further learning exam allows holders of an accredited bachelor's degree to demonstrate the knowledge needed to obtain chartered status.

It’s a way to demonstrate that work-based experience provides the required level of engineering knowledge and skills to register as a Chartered Engineer (CEng).

Fergus Harkins, who took the exam himself, and now volunteers as a marker, said: “It’s significantly enhanced my understanding of new technologies and working methods.

“It's also offered a valuable opportunity to collaborate with the ICE in nurturing engineering talent and paving the way toward chartership.”

Become an end-point assessor

Siu Fa Ng, who’s been a professional reviewer since 2018, recently trained to be an apprenticeship end-point assessor (EPA).

Siu says becoming an EPA assessor broadened her viewpoint on how diverse the journey to become a civil engineer can be.

“It is my mission that society values civil engineers' capabilities in shaping the world around us positively,” Siu says.

“From the EPA candidates that I assessed recently, I am taking positive actions towards removing the stereotypical ideas on what civil engineers can do, and what construction and civil engineering are.”

2. Inspire future civil engineers

As an ICE STEM ambassador, you'll have a chance to inspire young people to become civil engineers.

You may think that if you are just starting out in your first job, or if you are newly qualified that you aren’t yet experienced enough to shape the future of the industry.

But that's not the case – you’re perfectly poised to inspire the next generation of civil engineers through one of ICE’s education or mentoring programmes.

You’ll be given training by STEM Learning so you’ll know all the ins and outs of working with young people. You’ll also develop key skills like public speaking and planning, which can count towards your own CPD.

You may support them in running a STEM club or be a resource for them as they tackle CityZen Award challenges.

"Mentoring students in the CityZen competition encourages me to stay current,” says Kevin Smith, who was also ICE Scotland’s STEM Ambassador of the Year in 2024.

Becoming an ICE ambassador, or supporting a trainee engineer through the ICE’s Training Scheme, is also a fantastic way for people to see and experience how the industry is changing.

For example, by welcoming many more women and people of diverse backgrounds.

Members Virtue Igbokwuwe and Ayo Sokale, have previously shared why representation is such an important part of breaking down barriers and changing old narratives about working in civil engineering.

3. Help shape policy for all civil engineers

Have you've reached a point in your career where you’re responsible for the promotion, planning, design, construction, maintenance or management of major projects?

If so, you may want to consider applying to be an ICE Fellow.

Obtaining an ICE Fellowship recognises your contribution to the profession and opens doors for new opportunities to help shape the future of the industry.

As an ICE Fellow, you can volunteer your time and share your expertise as a policy fellow.

ICE Policy Fellows support the Policy and External Affairs Committee and are instrumental in the ICE’s work with policy and decision makers in the UK.

We rely on the insights and experience our policy fellows can draw on to advise policymakers on how infrastructure can help us deliver a more sustainable world.

Help us do what we do better

Reading through the member comments and experiences shared here, you’ll get a sense of what these ICE volunteer roles mean to these members.

Engaging with students, other members, and colleagues is not only highlighting positive change in the industry to them but helping them stay energised for new challenges.

Volunteer with the ICE