Owing to Covid-19, most National Group events were postponed or cancelled to comply with health and safety requirements, worldwide. To keep up the learning and knowledge exchange, some of our National Groups set up online platforms to conduct their seminars and conferences, including IABSE’s First Online Conference. Please find below a comprehensive report of these events.
Latin America
Figure 1. IABSE Latin American monthly meets
On 18 June 2020, several Latin American Groups of IABSE conducted their first online meeting, with the objective of strengthening collaboration among National Groups and to plan forthcoming events in the region, which was followed up by a second meeting in July. This was initiated by IABSE’s Vice President Carlos Mendez from Mexico. Chairs of the IABSE Groups of Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia and Chile (see photo) took part in it. Prof. Adriana Guisasola from Argentina was the special guest and is trying to initiate an Argentinian Group for IABSE. This meeting provided her the opportunity to connect with other National Group Chairs to understand the procedure and more about IABSE and its activities. The objectives of the meeting were the following: to know each other and to introduce everyone and their NGs; to discuss new joint events in the region; to start supporting a webinar organized by the Costa Rican Group of IABSE; to discuss different activities, starting with smaller events and building up towards larger events; to discuss the Covid-19 situation and how to cope with current times–how to connect online and bridge the gap caused by restrictions in travelling and meeting. The Latin American Group plans to conduct monthly online meetings to follow up and support each other’s activities henceforth.
UK
Figure 2. “IABSE in Conversation” podcast by the British Group of IABSE (I.Firth and D.Knight)
In July, the British Group released a new series of Podcasts based on talks with prominent Structural Engineers from the UK with David Knight as moderator in a series called “IABSE in Conversation”, available under https://iabse.sounder.fm on Apple Podcasts and Google Play. This is a unique venture to connect and share knowledge in current times. In this series, conversations are to be found with the prominent British structural engineers John Roberts, Bill Harvey, Helena Russell, Laura Langridge and Ian Firth.
David Knight, Vice Chair, UK writes the following:
“One of the great delights of IABSE is rubbing shoulders with the best engineers and designers in the world, and learning about them in an informal and friendly setting. As lockdown kicked in, the British Group realised that this was going to be absent from our normal schedule of events (such as the Future of Design conferences for young engineers and our evening lectures with eminent designers) as they would all be online, and decided to look at other opportunities to communicate with our members. ”IABSE in Conversation” was born!
A podcast is a very personal way of communicating as you are often speaking through headphones straight into the listener's head. That personal touch meant that a very informal conversation is a good way of mimicking what might happen in a chat after an event or over a drink at a dinner. It also gives you the time to get to know a person a little and talk about their career and what inspires them in a way that does not always come across in project focussed presentations or on a CV. The podcast series interviewed five different designers or engineers, each with a very different background and route through the industry to where they are today. We spoke to a designer at the forefront of the technical revolution with experience in several major consultants and contractors; an expert in masonry structures, a writer and editor who communicates about bridges, a world famous bridge designer, and a young architect just starting on her career designing bridges. However, that is just the start of their stories, and you get to hear anecdotes and favourites, childhood memories and impressions from the start of their career, and thoughts on how the industry might move forward and what their plans are for the future.
The first series of “IABSE in Conversation” is available online at https://iabse.sounder.fm, in Apple Podcasts or Google Play, or on the IABSE British Group YouTube channel. Featuring Laura Langdridge, Bill Harvey, Ian Firth, John Roberts and Helena Russell, the series is well worth listening to in full, and we have plans for a second series shortly.”
Bangladesh
Figure 3. Opening ceremony of the conference. Top row (left to right): Mr. Yuho Hayakawa, Chief Representative, JICA; Engr. Md. Abdus Sabur, President, Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh; Engr. Md. Abdur Rashid Khan, Chief Engineer, Local Government Engineering Department, Bangladesh; Prof. Dr. AMM Safiullah, Chairman (Acting), Board of Accreditation for Engineering and Technical Education of Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh. Middle row (left to right): Prof. Dr. AFM Saiful Amin, Chair, Bangladesh Group of the IABSE and Member Secretary, Board of Accreditation for Engineering and Technical Education of Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh; Prof. Yoshiaki Okui, Saitama University. Bottom row (left to right): Engr. Nurul Huda, President (Elect), Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh; Engr. Quazi Muhammad Ferdous, Chief Engineer, Bangladesh Bridge Authority; Professor Dr. Satya Prashad Mazumder, Vice Chancellor, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology; Emeritus Professor Elizabeth Taylor, Chair, International Engineering Alliance. Report by Saiful Amin, Chair
On 26 and 27 August 2020, the Bangladesh Group of the IABSE, in collaboration with the Japan Society of Civil Engineers, organized the International Conference on Advances in Bridge Engineering–IV: Definitive Outcomes for the People. The conference took place online and had the active support of six co-organizers, five associate organizers and three supporters. The conference also co-hosted an international symposium with the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh, entitled Quality Assurance in Engineering Education through Accreditation–II, which ran online in parallel. Although the COVID-19 pandemic forced the organizers to switch the venue from Dhaka’s InterContinental Hotel to an online platform, the event’s dates were saved. A very encouraging post-event survey indicated satisfaction among the participants in positively adapting to the new normal and promoting knowledge transfer through interactive online discussions. Respondents also showed interest in participating in future online events. In total, 707 participants from 23 countries participated in various sessions during the two-day event. Seven keynote papers and 65 technical papers by 223 authors in the bridge engineering discipline from 13 countries comprised 72 live presentations given over the Internet. These presenters also responded to moderated audience questions in real time. The education symposium within the conference included nine live plenary talks, two live discussion sessions and a live workshop organized jointly by Malaysia and Bangladesh on complex engineering problems and complex engineering activities. The opening ceremony was addressed by nine guests from academia and industry, and the closing ceremony was addressed by ten guests. Prof. Dr. AFM Saiful Amin, Chair, Bangladesh Group of the IABSE, chaired both sessions. Details can be found at http://iabse-bd.org/2020/ and http://www.baetebangladesh.org/symposium2/
Philippines
Figure 4. Structural Engineering: Outstanding & Novel Achievements; Philippines
On 27 July 2020, the Philippine Group of IABSE launched a video-webinar on “Structural Engineering: Outstanding & Novel Achievements”. The video-webinar is a self-paced webinar where the participant may view the video presentations and lectures prepared by the organizers at his/her own pace/time/place. The video presentations and lectures were uploaded at the STRUCT-CHANNEL @ YouTube. The STRUCT-CHANNEL is an initiative of volunteer structural engineers from the Philippine Group of IABSE and/or ASEP, which is called informally the Advocates of Structural Engineering Group. The video-webinar on “Structural Engineering: Outstanding & Novel Achievements” features: a Music Photo-Video – The World of the Structural Engineer (3:47); Video Lecture SC-01: The World of the Structural Engineer (13:39) by Dr. Andy Oreta; Video Lecture SC-02: Outstanding Bridges (14:23) by Engr. Juanito Cunanan; Video Lecture SC-03: Outstanding Buildings (14:25) by Adam Abinales; and Video Lecture SC-04: ASEP and the NSCP (16:55) by Rannie Ison. To view the webinar, visit the blogsite of the Philippine Group of IABSE at: http://iabse-ph.blogspot.com/2020/07/video-webinar-on-structural-engineering.html
Korea
Figure 5. “Ready for Smart Technology”, Korea
On 20 August 2020, the technical short programs in smart design and construction related to structural engineering under the topic “Ready for Smart Technology” was offered by the Korean Group of IABSE. This program was designed to prepare for the smart construction that has become an urgent issue internationally and domestically, far faster than expected, along with the economic revitalization issue, post Covid-19. The participants could access the program sessions online or offline to gain crucial knowledge and applicable skills from renowned leaders in fields from BIM to sensing technology, as well as in systems engineering. Specific technologies, including digital twinning and deep learning, were also covered in the lectures. The live Q&A session helped interactive discussion between the speakers and participants, who also used chat messages to communicate. For more details, visit http://www.kibse.or.kr/staticdata/static/activities/tech-programs/.
Austria
The Austrian Group of IABSE organised a Webinar, which was a special session organized within the project “ATCZ190 SAFEBRIDGE” on 23 October 2020. It had free participation, inviting IABSE members as well as non-members to register and take part. The session included an introduction to the ATCZ190 SAFEBRIDGE project - Advanced analysis of existing reinforced and pre-stressed concrete bridges: Nonlinearity, reliability, safety formats, life-time aspects; followed by Czech bridge case studies - Methodology and application; Austrian bridge case studies - Methodology and application; and a round of discussion to wrap it up.
The session, addressed mainly to Czech and Austrian strategic partners, designers, bridge technicians and administrators and other participants who are interested in advanced methods for the assessment of existing bridges, was a successful endeavour to discuss and share information. For future similar webinars, please check the Austrian Group of IABSE's webpage (https://iabse.org/National-Groups/Austria).
United States
The US Group of IABSE presented the Future of Design NYC for the fourth time during 15-29 September 2020, in a series of five events hosted online. The theme of Future of Design NYC 2020 was Acceleration and Deceleration. Designers and related built environment professionals are often caught between the fast-paced flexibility that a project demands and the slow pace of change of industry practices. This year's program evaluated the effects of acceleration on the built environment and on designing with social responsibility; it also explored ideas and innovative practices that developed as a result of - or in an attempt to better harness - those shifts. The event approached these issues from the perspectives of both engineering and architecture, in order to contextualize designers' voices in transformative built environment initiatives. we provide updates on program sessions and speakers. Topics included: “To Whose Benefit?”; “Is ‘Now’ a Long or Short Time? What is the useful lifespan of a project, and who defines that?"; “From Design to Implementation: The Human Scale”; “Tailored Approaches: Customizing Function” + Discussion Workshop; and “Civic Engagement for Designers”. Read about the Speakers and topic descriptions here: https://fodnyc.org/2020-program/.
