Bye bye Katie
The institution would like to thank its development manager Katie Holt for her dedication and commitment over the years and wish her all the very best for the future.
In her second stint with the institution, Katie has been instrumental in the success of the institution’s approved development schemes and staying within the profession, leaves after seven years for an exciting new challenge with The Survey Association (TSA).
CICES CEO Simon Hamlyn said: “This is great news for Katie and TSA. She has been a fabulous asset to the institution and will certainly be in her new role. We have all enjoyed working with Katie who has been an influential member of the senior leadership team. Katie takes a wealth of knowledge and experience to TSA, I’m delighted that she is staying within the surveying profession and I look forward to our paths crossing regularly in future. Be well, do great work, and keep in touch.”
CICES will begin the recruitment process for a new development manager shortly, in the meantime if you’d like to express an interest in the role please contact CICES CEO Simon Hamlyn at simon.hamlyn@cices.org
Location data to help deliver the safe rollout of autonomous vehicles
The Geospatial Commission has published a report that highlights the important role location data and technologies will play in enabling the safe deployment of connected and self-driving vehicles on the UK’s roads. By 2035, 40% of cars in the UK could have self-driving capabilities. The self-driving market in the UK could be worth as much as £42bn by 2035, creating up to 38,000 new jobs. Location data and technology will have a key role in the sector, but there are challenges around data discoverability, accessibility and quality.
The report sets out what is already being done to meet these opportunities and challenges and some of the action areas for government, academia and industry to improve the quality and breadth of location data. The report can be found at https://tinyurl.com/yc54d6mc
Gove’s levelling up and regeneration bill becomes law
The Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill has become law. The mammoth 534-page bill, designed to underpin the government’s levelling up agenda, received Royal Assent on 26 October 2023. The legislation overhauls planning and plan-making, reforms developer contributions and enshrines the government’s ‘levelling up missions’ in law.
Joshua Boorer (l) with CICES president, Batsetswe Motsumi.
Survey School graduation
Joshua Boorer was the deserved winner of the CICES prize for best assignment at the recent Survey School class of 2023 graduation ceremony.
Joshua was presented with his award by CICES president, Batsetswe Motsumi.
The award consists of a certificate, a commemorative shield and £250. A huge congratulations to all the graduates on the day.
Paint Sale Pink!
Staff at CICES HQ recently took part in the ‘Paint Sale Pink’ campaign to support Prevent Breast Cancer.
Prevent Breast Cancer is the only charity solely committed to predicting and preventing breast cancer.
Based at the Nightingale Centre at Wythenshawe Hospital, it is the only breast cancer prevention clinic in the UK.
The campaign ran for two weeks in October with local businesses pledging their support and to raise awareness. CICES made a donation of £150 to the charity.
New agreement to provide mutual benefits for CECA and CICES
CICES has announced plans for closer ties with the UK’s representative body for companies that deliver, upgrade, and maintain the country’s infrastructure. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) has been signed with the Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA).
CICES CEO Simon Hamlyn explained: “By signing this MoU with the CECA, we’re detailing our intent to build a relationship between our organisations.”
CECA chief executive Alasdair Reisner commented: “Our experience tells us we can achieve our best results when we collaborate across industry to secure better outcomes for the sector and our members. I am delighted to cement our existing relationship with CICES through our new MoU.”
Bridging the skills gap: Connecting education and industry to foster surveying talent
KOREC has hosted the first in a series of events in collaboration with the British Association of Construction Heads (BACH) aimed at forging stronger connections between education and the construction industry. The primary goal is to address the pressing skills shortage within the surveying sector and highlight some of the challenges that BACH and BACH members are facing including high dropout rates. The first event held in Durham in October brought together representatives from further education, local survey companies and industry associations with a common aim – to explore proactive solutions for bridging the skills gap. Thanks go to BACH, CICES, Costain, Tri-Tech, Academy Geomatics, Gridmark Surveys, Ridge & Partners, Balfour Beatty, 360 Group, Esh Group and all the FE colleges that joined KOREC on the day.
HS2 northern section cancelled
The UK’s Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, has announced that the northern section of HS2 is to be scrapped. It means the planned railway will only link London with Birmingham in central England. The northern section – which has part of the route already under construction – was planned to run from Birmingham to Manchester. On making the announcement during the Conservative Party Conference in October, Mr Sunak stated that the government will redirect the HS2 northern section funding – estimated at £36bn – to a new Network North scheme insisting the regions would benefit from equal or more spending on local transport projects.
Designing for wellbeing in the built environment competition
The Chartered Surveyors Training Trust (CSTT) has announced the launch of the annual My Environment My Future (MEMF) School Competition, Designing for Wellbeing in the Built Environment. MEMF is a fully-funded school programme which embeds knowledge, resources and guidance on careers within the built environment into the delivery of the core GCSE and A-level geography curriculum. The competition provides an opportunity for young people across the UK to showcase their creativity and innovation while exploring the impact of the built environment on wellbeing. The competition is free to enter and open to all schools. There are three age categories, each with a chance to win £50 in Amazon vouchers for students and their school. If you would like to include the competition in your school’s outreach please contact info@cstt.org.uk.
2023 Going Digital Awards in Infrastructure
Winners of the 2023 Going Digital Awards in Infrastructure were honoured at the Bentley Systems Year in Infrastructure awards dinner. The annual awards program honours the extraordinary work of Bentley software users advancing infrastructure design, construction, and operations throughout the world. During the awards 15 projects were also recognised for Founders’ Honours. To find out more, visit www.bentley.com/events/going-digital-awards/.
Webinars
Many thanks to the speakers and companies for the recent round up of webinars from Archor, HKA, Slater Heelis, Kuits and Quigg Golden.
New research could transform future bridge construction
The future of bridge construction could be transformed by a new trial being carried out by National Highways exploring more environmentally friendly building which could significantly reduce the carbon footprint and costs. Through a network of sensors, the research will analyse if fewer materials are actually needed in the design, installation and maintenance of integral bridges. Integral bridges do not have expansion joints between spans or abutments and are often used for small to medium-sized bridges.
The trial will begin in the coming weeks on a new integral bridge at the Wisley Interchange as part of the M25 junction 10 improvements scheme. An array of sensors will measure the actual strain and stress profiles within the bridge and surrounding soil. Data will be gathered every hour and analysed over a three year period by National Highways and AtkinsRéalis, as well as Cambridge University.