Centenarians and early career members shared insights at award finals in Leeds and Newcastle.
ICE members who’ve been with institution for 50 years or more gathered at events in Newcastle and Leeds to mark this milestone and share insights with early career members.
Joined by director general Dr Janet Young in Leeds, and director of membership and deputy director general Sean Harris in Newcastle, the events were a chance to thank the members for their continued support.
Speaking at the event in Newcastle, Harris recognised the members’ contributions to local, national and international civil engineering projects throughout their careers.
Harris said: “On behalf of the institution, I would like to thank you for your unwavering support, dedication and your contribution as members.
“As a learned society, we are indeed richer with your combined experience of a total of 1916 years of membership to date.”
Companionship and keeping up to date with industry
Long-standing members explained that after retirement, companionship is one of the main reasons for keeping their ICE membership.
Some said that retirement can feel lonely, and they can soon feel out of touch.
Being part of the ICE has been part of some members’ lives for so long that keeping it going also helps them feel relevant.
This, alongside a lifelong love and passion for civil engineering, is what keeps them coming back for more as they strive to keep up to date with industry.
The North East and Yorkshire and Humber have highly active retired groups where members enjoy a full programme of site visits, talks and social events.
Find out more about the North East and Yorkshire and Humber groups, and get in touch with any questions.
Celebrating centenarians
The institution prides itself on being an organisation that evolves, and it encourages members to continue learning.
This is embodied by Bill Apedaile who not only celebrated 74 years of membership with the ICE in the North East, but also received his Fellowship just last year at the age of 92.
Another member in attendance, John Gill, had recently celebrated his 100th birthday.
Gill served in the army in the non-combat corps (NCC) from 1942 to 1946. He worked oversees in Nigeria and Cameroon for 10 years.
Back in the UK, he worked in local government and retired as the director of technical services for Tyne & Wear Metropolitan County Council.
Read more: the ICE helps members with their continued professional development (CPD)
Early careers excellence meets commitment and expertise
Finalists of the Emerging Engineers Award (EEA) and their young supporters networked with civil engineers with over half a century of experience at the events.
The EEA promotes and rewards excellence in the originality and communication of civil engineering ideas and research. Participants write a technical research paper and then present it.
During the presentations, long-standing members were able to ask questions to their younger counterparts about topics that weren’t as common at the start of their careers, such as sustainability and net zero.
A networking lunch allowed the more experienced and younger civil engineers to share knowledge, noting how much had changed in the industry over the years.
The ‘wealth of experience’ within the ICE
The ICE Yorkshire and Humber Emerging Engineers Award was presented to Matthew Brooks, a graduate engineer for the Environment Agency.
His paper was on developing a framework to combat and increase resilience to major UK flood events.
Speaking about the event, Brooks said: “Networking with the more experienced members opened a plethora of potential career paths.
“They were able to share their unique insights into the various opportunities a future in civil engineering brings.”
Chris Davenport was presented with the ICE North East Emerging Engineers Award for his paper on timber bunds for natural flood management.
He said: “The Emerging Engineers final and 50 years of ICE membership celebration was an excellent event, which focused on the past, present and future of the institution.
“Discussions regarding the sector, with individuals with over 70 years of membership not only proved fruitful but highlighted the wealth of experience within our organisation.”
QUEST Technician Scholars were also presented with their awards at the event in Leeds by director general Dr Janet Young.
Read more: find out who the other 2024 EEA regional winners are
