2000
Year in Review
The
European Council of Civil Engineers (ECCE) was founded in 1985 and seeks to promote the
highest technical and ethical standards for the profession throughout Europe. |
The voice of
the professional civil engineer in Europe |
|
| ECCE members gather at the end of the
Rome meeting – Saturday 6th May 2000 |
| FOREWORD FROM ECCE President Professor António
Adão da Fonseca
To meet in
Rome at the beginning of the Millennium must be a very auspicious start to the new
century. The ECCE meeting was held in the very centre of Rome whose historic monuments and
urban congestion illustrate very well the great engineering achievements of the past and
the problems which confront modern engineers in the urban environment.
Naturally, we had many issues to discuss and debate throughout
our two day meetings which always seem to pass too quickly. I was both proud and pleased
to launch ECCE’s Code of Professional Conduct at our Rome meeting. The code is a
brief one, not legally binding, but it is hoped that ECCE members will promote the code
widely so that it will be followed actively on a voluntary basis. The code will be posted
on the ECCE web site in the near future. I would also like to thank Mike Cottell of the
Institution of Civil Engineers for his role in coming out of ‘retirement’ from
ECCE representation to chair this Task Force.
Our colleagues at the Consiglio were generous and considerate
hosts and ensured that our free time was well occupied in sampling the cuisine and
hospitality for which their city is famed. It was a pleasure to see new faces from
Lithuania, Malta and Poland at our meeting and a sadness to say farewell to Jean-Claude
Parriaud of the CNISF who has headed the French representation on ECCE for a number of
years. Our thoughts and good wishes for his retirement go with him and his family.
In the summer months many of us will have the opportunity to
take a break from our normal routines. I hope it will give us all the opportunity to
refresh ourselves so that we can face the autumn with renewed enthusiasm for our
tasks.…
António Adão da
Fonseca, Portugal, July 2000 |
| ECCE NEWS: ECCE adopts a Code of Professional Conduct for European
civil engineers |
A the ECCE meeting in Rome, the fruit
of discussions, comparison and debate was finalised when ECCE members present at the
meeting voted to adopt the proposed text of a framework guide to professional conduct for
European civil engineering professionals.
The code commences with a preamble on what engineering needs
to do to apply the code itself.
As Task Force Chairman Mike Cottell commented, "the code
is a dynamic thing which should not just go into a bookcase. Engineers have particular
duties to society, to the environment, to their own profession, to client and employer and
to other engineers.
ECCE President Antonio Adao da Fonseca who set this
initiative in motion and has reviewed codes from many member and other countries,
emphasises that "the code translates basic values of the profession throughout
Europe". Members are free to use the whole code or parts of it in their own countries
but ECCE has no power to discipline, other than rely on its good judgement.
Items which appear in the code may be considered again in the
future, reflecting the code’s status as a ‘living document’. Antonio Adao
da Fonseca will contact national organisations to ask them to promote the code and include
it in the curriculum for professional engineers. A copy of the code will also be placed on
the ECCE web site.
ECCE NEWS: ECCE participation in international
Symposia |
Finnish member organisation RIL hosted a
symposium with ECCE co-sponsorship in March on the subject of "Construction in Russia
Today". The aim of the symposium was to introduce participants to the huge potential
construction market in Russia. The Symposium was opened by Finnish Government Minister
Kimmo Sasi.
 |
Photographed
during the reception given by Helsinki city: are from left to right: Principal director
Jouni Sarkijarvi Ministry of Environment; Vice chairman of Gosstroi, Larissa Barinova
Russia, ECCE Vice-President and RIL representative to ECCE Yrjoe Matikainen, Pekka
Korpinen Deputy Mayor of Helsinki |
Seven keynote lectures were given by Larissa Barinova ,Valery
Abarykov, Jakov Rekitar, Jurij Zhukovskij, Valery Tischenko, Jukka Aho and Martti Rautee,
the Chairman of ‘Finnish -Russian Co-operation in Construction’ supplemented by
some forty presentations. Together lectures and presentations formed a clear explanation
of the present state and future of Russia’s construction market Russia and how to act
there. Topics covered investment policy, design requirements, standards (SNIP and GOS)T
,certification, product approval, construction site requirements, logistics, final
inspection and passing over to the customer, partnerships, risks, interesting projects and
experiences of western firms in the market.
Mr Veikko Kauppila chaired the Scientific Committee and
Professor Alexander Zabegayev represented ECCE applicant member the Russian Society of
Civil Engineers.
RIL hosted a further International Symposium on 22nd –
24th May 2000. ILCDES 2000 featured the Integrated Life-Cycle Design of
Materials and Structures. The basic idea behind the Symposium was that material and
structure design is a key factor in the development of a sustainable building and civil
engineering practice. It was claimed that high life-cycle quality – including
functionality, technical performance, economy, ecology, safety, health and comfort –
may only be achieved through integrated life cycle design. "Integrated" in this
context means the introduction of all requirements into design, whilst the term
"life-cycle" means introduction of a time-span over generations into all
calculations, evaluations and decisions.
| Carl-August Günther, of the German Section of ECCE, an ECCE
Vice-President attended the event and has given us his impressions. "The symposium was under the
direction of RILEM, CIB and ISO and was organised by RIL and VTT. Participants from 29
countries around the world exchanged experience and developments on the theme of LCD. Many
of the presentations dealt with the scientific and technical details surrounding this
theme. Representatives from the Netherlands provided a number of practical examples.
The uses of LCD relate to construction works
of buildings from public buildings to bridges, port developments, streets and railways.
The question asked of LCD at this time was: "if, for example, a building in its
original conception cannot be used anymore, is it because this usage is no longer
necessary or is the substance of the building in a bad state of construction?"
In the case of not being useable for its original purposes, a
solution can be found through LCD for other usage, e.g. from an administrative building to
a students’ hostel. When use is no longer impossible because of the state of the
construction, checks can be made on the basis of LCD:
- Can the construction parts be used for a further purpose?
- Is separation of single building materials possible in order
to recycle them?
- The final solution is to separate the building materials as
much as possible to see to what extent they can be used for environmentally friendly
purposes.
For future building developments, the action should be as
follows - a reversal of what is proposal for existing buildings:
- The building materials should be used in such a way that after
the end of their current usage a new application can be found for them.
- Building materials which at the end of their usage can be
cleanly separated, can be further used as a recycling product
According to the constructive elements described above, LCD
can also include environmentally friendly usage of resources such as water and energy.
In future use of construction elements in the sense of LCD,
rain water usage is one element so that increasingly drinking water will be used only as a
form of nourishment. Considerations should also be given to solar energy construction and
optimal insulation. And there are also possibilities for considerable savings in energy
usage to be made in regard to heating oil, gas and electricity. In this regard use of wind
and water energy, solar technology are seen as environmentally friendly technologies in
the sense of LCD.
Lastly, but in the distant past through necessity there was
practical usage of building materials within a region which created ecological building
through reduced reliance on transport.
But who are the people who should be dealing with LCD? These
may be considered as the construction companies, the public purse in relation to those who
have responsibility for state-sponsored construction. There will be an increase in new
building costs relating to investment in property. However, the potential for saving lies
in the more economically advantageous maintenance and status of the construction.
The question of LCD is not really a technical
question, it should also be considered under cultural aspects".
Carl August Guenther, June 2000 |
 |
Pictured on
the left are the organisers of the Life-Cycle Design Symposium held in Finland on 22nd-214th
May 2000, flanked by ECCE Vice-Presidents Yrjö Matikainen of Finland and Carl-August
Günther of Germany. |
The conclusions presented by the seminar indicated that many
research works are on the same line and compatible. Research is perhaps too dominantly
oriented towards analysis and assessment. There is a need for more design process and
methods-orientation to fill the gaps, not overlapping with earlier works and generic
models are needed, followed with local applications. It was considered that minimisation
of material and water consumption as well as the minimisation of pollution into air, water
and of construction waste going to landfills should become an higher priority of
architects, construction engineers and industries and environmental legislation to the
advantage of nature.
Participants believed that clients should be ready to pay for
Life Cycle Design (LCD) as they will profit from it. International standardisation is
going on in some areas (e.g. ISO and CEN). A need for the future is for new design process
and design method-oriented standardisation.
A 549-page report on the ILCDES 2000 Symposium is published
as RILEM Proceedings PRO 14 by RILEM Publications with ISBN reference
951-758-408-3, ISSN 0356-9403.
LINKING THE PROFESSION
WITH CIVIL ENGINEERING EDUCATION – THE EUCEET PROJECT |
The EUCEET project began in academic year
1998/1999, beating stiff competition to be accepted for European Commission funding.
Romanian representative to ECCE, Professor Iacint Manoliu of the UAICR has kept ECCE
members regularly informed on the EU-funded EUCEET Network (European Civil Engineering
Education and Training) project.
The project is co-ordinated by the Paris-based Ecole National
des Ponts et Chaussées. Its origins lie in a 1995 TEMPUS Project. 43 universities have
joined the network. The project network has members from all EU countries and in addition
includes the Czech Republic, Romania and Hungary. From EFTA both Norway and Liechtenstein
are members.
The project aims to improve co-operation between
universities, faculties and departments of civil engineering in Europe, with the
involvement of academic and professional associations, are working together to assist in
the development of civil engineering education and to increase its quality and
effectiveness. Areas of mutual interest in civil engineering education include core
curricula; post-graduate programmes and continuing professional development; quality
assessment and mutual recognition; innovation and learning, plus the synergy
university-research-industry in the construction sector of Europe.
With the commencement of work by a new EUCEET
Working Group, ECCE has become more closely involved in the project. This Group is chaired
by ECCE Past President Gérard Baron and has commenced a review of what Europe’s
economic and professional environment seeks from civil engineering education. ECCE members
will receive a questionnaire at the end of July. Additional copies can be obtained by
sending an e-mail to fgbaron@club-internet.fr Responses are required by mid October 2000.
| ECCE’s FIRST MEETING OF THE MILLENNIUM – ROME
– MAY 2000 |
 |
Rome, the
Eternal City, is the venue for ECCE’s first meeting of the Millennium Host to the first ECCE meeting of the Millennium was the Consiglio Nazionale
degli Ingegnere who ensured that ECCE members had a full agenda of social activity.
Opening remarks to ECCE members were made by Sergio Polese, the
President of the Consiglio Nazionale degli Ingegnere. |
| ECCE AND THE EUROPEAN INSTITUTIONS |
ECCE is actively involved in European
issues affecting the profession. By active participation in pan-industry groups members
are kept informed and their views are put across to the European Institutions.
The European Commission Competitiveness in Construction
report was brought before the Council of Ministers in November 1999. Throughout 1999 ECCE
played an active role in supporting the Commission’s activities to improve sector
competitiveness. ICE member David Leonard, who has participated in a number of
construction IT projects, together with ECCE Deputy Secretary Diana Maxwell and Jan
Venstermans of ECCREDI, co-authored a report on IT as a factor of construction
competitiveness. The Working Group has now moved to a second phase. John Whitwell, ECCE
Secretary General, is an active member of the Education and Training Working Group set up
in the latter part of 1999. This provides an opportunity to bring ECCE proposals for
professional recognition into a discussion forum which involves other pan-European
construction related organisations. This Group is in Phase 1 and will produce a report by
autumn 2000.
ECCE is also maintaining a watching brief on the Sustainable
Construction Working Group which has three sub-groups which include construction waste and
energy, both being areas in which ECCE members have expressed interest and concern in
recent years and has particular links to the sub-group dealing with construction waste.
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION’S
CONSTRUCTION UNIT
Until 1999 the European Construction’s unit was located
in the Industry Directorate General (D.G.) of the European Commission – known as
"D.G. III". Following the decision to carry out reform of the European
Institutions, the Industry Directorate General has become part of a renamed and
restructured entity. The construction unit still exists but now forms part of an enlarged
Directorate General – "D.G. Enterprise". This has brought together the
former Industry D.G., the former D.G for small and medium enterprises and the innovation
part of the former Directorate General for Telecommunications and Information Technology.
Mr Karlheinz Zachmann of the European Commission, who runs a
Construction Contact Point for the major pan-European bodies representing the construction
sector has attended a number of ECCE meetings in recent years. Mr Zachmann is responsible
for the EUROFEDAC database of all pan-European Construction related organisations which
represents individual members. It is expected that the database will be completed in 2000
and made available on the Construction unit’s "Create" web site (accessible
via the Commission pages on the Europa web-site at http://www.europa.eu.int).
Communication with new members of the European Parliament
started soon after the June 1999 elections, focusing on those members of the European
Parliament with a particular interest in the built environment. In autumn ’99 Mr
Tillich was named European Minister for the German Bundesland of Sachsen Anhalt. As no MEP
has been identified who is willing to chair the CRANE group and ensure its continuation,
contact is being maintained on issues of direct concern.
| THE WORK OF THE ECCE
TASK FORCES: |
ECCE has focused its activities on a
series of Task Forces whose action plans are reviewed at the Spring meeting each year so
that fresh priorities may be set. Members may decide to disband Task Forces or create new
ones according to the support given by national representations. Each member organisation
of ECCE is encouraged to provide a list of expert representatives (normally one per member
organisation) to assist with Task Force activity. These representatives may not
necessarily attend meetings and so e-mail contact is encouraged to ensure rapid means of
communication between members.
Four Task Forces were held at the ECCE meeting on Friday 5th
May. These were Research and Development, Professional Recognition, Information Technology
and Environment. In the course of the meeting a vote was held on the future of individual
Task Forces.
It was agreed that an Education Task Force would remain,
chaired by Vasillis Economopoulos which would incorporate the Professional Recognition
Task Force chaired by John Whitwell. Other related activities in this sphere are those of
the EUCEET project in which Executive Committee Member Professor Iacint Manoliu of UAICR,
Romania has been playing an active role. A further Task Force has been set up in the
EUCEET project to focus on what the profession desires of civil engineering education.
This is chaired by ECCE Past-President Gerard Baron. .
The other Task Forces to take place on the morning of the
ECCE meeting were Research and Development, chaired by Guy Benattar of ECCE, France;
Information Technology chaired by Stephen Vincent of the ICE, UK which has Rasso Stenman
of the German Section of ECCE as Vice-Chairman.
Measures are being taken to ensure that environmental issues
continue to be represented. Diana Maxwell stood in for the Environment Task Force Chairman
in May and at the main meeting it was recommended that Professor Santiago Fernandez of the
Colegio in Spain be offered Chairmanship of the Task Force.
The Ethics Task Force did not meet separately as the draft
Code of Conduct for Professional Civil Engineers was in final draft form and thus required
discussion and vote from all ECCE members present.
| Education and Training Chairman: Mr Vassilis Economopoulos of Greece |
The existing structures of civil
engineering education and training in Europe are as follows:
- Initial education
- Education at undergraduate level
- Post-graduate programmes and continuing professional
development
- Quality assessment and accreditation in Civil Engineering
education
Work has been ongoing for some time on a Task Force study
(using existing material and results of questionnaires) and it is hoped that a final draft
will be distributed to members in 2000.
| Professional Recognition Chairman: Mr John Whitwell, ECCE Secretary General |
This Task Force is developing a proposal to create a
European Register of Professional Civil Engineers. This aspires to creating a greater
recognition of equivalence of engineering qualifications and enabling the professional
mobility of civil engineering professionals.
A sixth draft was discussed with members in Rome in May 2000.
An initiative of former European Commissioner Sir Leon
Brittan - The Transatlantic Economic – aims to speed up services liberalisation
negotiations which on a global scale are negotiated within the General Agreement on Trade
in Services (GATS), one of the basic pillars of the World Trade Organisations (WTO). ECCE
subscribes to the European Services Network which provides a great deal of information on
industry positions and negotiations in relation to GATS.
The EU and the US Department of Commerce are involved in
negotiations to improve the mobility of the professional on both sides of the Atlantic.
Negotiations seek to ensure a system common to all these initiatives – civil
engineering mobility is seen as a vital part of the initiatives. ECCE is proposing that
its own system will harmonise with the Engineering Mobility Forum and the Asia Pacific
Economic Cooperation forum (APEC). Then it is hoped that as and when all other countries
expand into a multi-disciplinary format, the whole thing could expand into a
mutli-disciplinary agreement. However, this day is still in the far distance.
ECCE’s target is to work between the May and October
meetings to establish an improved text to set up a system under which every member
interested would develop a register. John Whitwell advised members that no one is asked to
change their existing registers but has the opportunity, if it wishes, to develop a system
that fits in with this general system.
Whilst awaiting a decision on
which ECCE representative would take over the Chair of the Environment Task Force, ECCE
Deputy Secretary Diana Maxwell briefed members current issues and proposals being prepared
in Brussels which will affect the sector. She urged all members to play their part in
supporting ECCE in presenting the view-point of the built environment to civil servants
and politicians. ECCE has created a strong network of contacts and is respected for the
balanced views which it presents on behalf of professional civil engineers. For these
views to continue to carry weight, it is important that as many members as possible
express their views freely to ensure that final position papers reflect all the
membership. ECCE’s membership covers all of Europe – north and south, east and
west – and it is important that this diversity is reflected in its work.
The European Commission carried out a consultation on the
Sixth Action Programme for the Environment and some initial thoughts have been prepared,
focusing on transport, urban environment, water, waste and enlargement issues.
Since February 2000 the European Commission has been
circulating a White Paper on Environmental Liability. Initial fears that this would impose
severe restrictions on the construction sector have abated. Earlier drafts threatened much
more severe effects than the current document. However, Members were advised that the
wording in the current document is rather ‘loose’. This could result in either a
Directive which is unclear or problems could slip in in a redrafting phase for the final
Directive. Members were asked to submit their comments on the legislation prior to
mid-June in order to allow ECCE to submit its comments for the 30th June
deadline.
Another area in which ECCE was active in the past and has
been asked to comment again is that of construction waste. The Environment Directorate of
the European Commission was schedule to host a meeting on 8th May on the
subject of Construction Waste and ECCE participation had been requested. A detailed paper
had been submitted in 1998, largely with support from members from the U.K., France and
Denmark. In the course of discussion, Paul Camilleri of Malta pointed to the need to
emphasise the need to adapt technology transfer to different climates and circumstances, a
proposal that was supported by Andreas Constantinides of the Cyprus Council of Civil
Engineers. Task Force Members were asked to comment on the current Commission thinking on
the subject before early June.
| Research and DevelopmentChairman: Guy Benattar of France |
In Spring 2000 Guy Benattar circulated details of work
being prepared by Commission Busquin of France relating to the European Research Area.
Mike Thorn of the Institution of Civil Engineers Research and Development Committee had
written a detailed response which stressed the need to be prepared and to push points. A
follow-up to this had been submitted by Antonió Adao da Fonseca and members were
encouraged to contribute their views. Members were asked to focus in particular on the
questions: Why do European Firms spend less on construction research and development?; and
Should research and development money be concentrated on areas which the private sector
will not cover e.g. fundamental research or should public research and development
spending be oriented towards obtaining clear results?" During the May Task Force
meeting there was also discussion on networking on Centres of Excellence and it was felt
that there was a need for a network of Centres of Excellence and to build on this
capacity. Comparisons were made with the education and training-based EUCEET network.
Members were reminded that the Fifth Framework Programme and
the City of the Future has made 15 billion Euros available for research. There are
possibilities for countries outside the EU to participate. Co-operation is possible with
third countries to an amount of Euro 475 million. ECCE members can find up-to-date
information available on the world wide web. The internet address is http://www.cordis.lu.
Gerard Baron continues to be an industry representative on
the TRA-EFCT (Targeted Research Acton – Environmentally Friendly Construction
Technologies) activity organised by ECCREDI, the European Committee for Construction
Research Development and Innovation, and funded by the European Commission. The four-year
TRA-EFCT project began under the European Commission-funded BRITE EURAM programme. Gerard
Baron explained that it is now in its third year and is seeking means to continue working
beyond March 2001 as Thematic Networks. Whilst Commission programmes are available on the
internet, they are seen as difficult to download and not always clear. The TRA-EFCT
workshops are considered useful and offer the bet opportunity for contact between the
European Commission and professionals.
Details of the TRA-EFCT can be found on the internet on: http://www.tra-efct.com
| Information Technology Chairman: Stephen Vincent |
At the May ECCE meeting Stephen Vincent advised members
that there had been two main activities in 2000 – one was a questionnaire produced as
a result of the May 1999 meeting in Dublin to gauge whether ECCE could carry out some
positive action. Thirteen countries had responded indicating general agreement that civil
engineers were not fully informed about IT. Four suggestions had been put forward, namely:
enhanced professional communications; in-career training; a civil engineering channel and
a virtual international meeting centre on the internet. At least ten of the responding
countries expressed interest in further actions.
The second activity relating to the Information Technology
Task Force related to links with the European Commission. The in-put to the Commission
actions on Competitiveness in Construction continued and has increasingly focused on the
business-to-business (B2B) application of IT for the construction sector. In addition,
consultation responses have been sent by Diana Maxwell on behalf of ECCE on the subjects
of the European Commission proposals on e-Europe and an Information Society for all
and also on the Commission proposal for a "dotEU" domain name. This has
been done to ensure that ECCE played its part in highlighting the need for standards and
education and training.
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the
Practice of Building and Civil Engineering is the subject of the ECCE Worldwide Symposium
to be held in Finland from 6th to 8th June 2001.
 |
The
First Worldwide ECCE Symposium, "Computers in the Practice of Building and Civil
Engineering", was held in Lahti, Finland, in September 1997. The symposium attracted
around 160 participants from 29 countries. The Second
Worldwide ECCE Symposium "ICT in the Practice of Building and Civil
Engineering", will update delegates on the state of the art and future perspectives
related to practical use of ICT in building and civil engineering.
The symposium is organised by the Association of Finnish
Civil Engineers (RIL) and the Technical Research Centre of Finland, Building Technology
(VTT), with the co-operation and support of the European Council of Civil Engineers
(ECCE), and with the co-sponsorships of the International Association for Bridge and
Structural Engineering (IABSE), the European Group for Structural Engineering Application
of Artificial Intelligence (EG-SEA-AI) and the International Alliance for Interoperability
(IAI). The focus of this symposium is the practical use of applications of ICT in building
and civil engineering. The following themes have been chosen: ICT-supported development of
processes and management, information networking, methods and software tools, practical
integration of information for the life-cycle and success stories in the practical
applications of ICT. |
| For
further information please contact the: RIL Symposium
Secretariat
Association of Finnish Civil Engineers RIL
Meritullinkatu 16A5
FIN – 00170 Helsinki
Finland |
Telephone:
+358 9 6840 780 Fax: +358 9 1357 670
e-mail: siv.forsten@ril.fi
internet: www.ril.fi/ecce.htm
|
| Ad Hoc Task Force on "The Ethics and Deontology of Civil
Engineers in Europe" chaired by Mike Cottell |
This Task Force was incorporated into the
plenary session of the ECCE meeting in Rome. A final draft document had been agreed
between Antonió Adão da Fonseca and Mike Cottell prior to the meeting and circulated to
ECCE members for consideration. Discussion and debate took place during the plenary
session of ECCE on Friday 6th May before the matter was put to the vote. The
outcome appears as a News Item on page 2 of this newsletter and the final text will be
placed on the ECCE web site.
| Links with other organisations: |
ECCE is a member of
ECCREDI, the European Council for Construction Research, Development and Innovation
which is actively involved in the European Commission’s R & D programme and has a
contract relating to targeted research actions. The European organisations participating
in ECCREDI represent the principal actors involved in the construction sector:
contractors, engineering consultants, architects and designers, product and material
producers as well as research bodies.
The aim of ECCREDI is to contribute to the competitiveness,
quality, safety and environmental performance of the construction sector and to the
overall sustainability of the built environment, by increasing the extent and
effectiveness of construction research, technical and process development as well as
innovation. Among its Members are: Architects’ Council of Europe, the European Cement
Association, the European council for Building Professionals (ECBP), European Federation
of Engineering Consultancy Associations, European Network of Building Research Institutes
(ENBRI), The European Network of Construction Companies for Research and Development
(ENCORD), The Consortium of European Building Control (CEBC).
ECCREDI recently held a Council Meeting which was attended by
ECCE Deputy Secretary John Whitwell. At this meeting the status of the first and second
calls as well as forthcoming calls in the R&D Fifth Framework Programme were discussed
and a project overview was given. A revised TRA EFCT newsletter was also circulated at the
meeting and the initiative for the 3rd ECCREDI/TRA Special FP5 Workshop was
welcomed and approved. A transfer from TRA EFCT to STN was considered and the draft
proposal outline for the new STN was presented. Other matters discussed were the Virtual
Institute European portal site for the Construction Sector, the ECCREDI innovation study,
the Intersectoral Platform "City of the Future" and several Policy and internal
issues. The next steering group meeting is scheduled for 26th October 2000 and
the next council meeting for 13th November 2000.
ECCE’s President and Secretariat also hold meetings with
ECBP, the European Council of Building Professionals.
ECCE has bilateral links with the following organisations:
JSCE (the Japan Society of Civil Engineers); ASCE (the
American Society of Civil Engineers) and WFEO (the World Federation of Engineering
Organisations) whereby information on activities is exchanged on a regular basis.
As Part of EXPO2000 the World Engineers’ Convention was
held from the 19th – 21st June 2000 by the VDI Verein Deutscher
Ingenieure. The central theme of both EXPO2000 and the Engineers’ Convention was
"Mankind – Nature – Technology". The Convention covered a wide range
of subjects. There were congresses on Information and Communication; Environment, Climate
and Health; Mobility; Energy; Future of Work. John Whitwell was scheduled to attend the
Convention and present a paper. As a result of time pressure he was not able to
participate. His paper was, however, included in the documentation
| Diary Dates ... next ECCE meeting |
The next meeting of the European
Council of Civil Engineers will be held in London at the Institution of Civil Engineers on
Friday 27th and Saturday 28th October 2000. Members are reminded
that accommodation is in short supply. A limited number of rooms have been reserved at the
Holiday Inn Express near Victoria Station.
Proposals have already been received for 2001: Portugal has
offered to host a meeting on 11th - 12th May in Oporto, Portugal.
Oporto will then will be ‘Cultural Capital of Europe’. The schedule of
subsequent meetings is:
2001 October Ljubliana, Slovenia
2002 Spring Greece (location to be confirmed)
|
SEFI Conference, Paris
6,7,8 September 2000
This Conference is entitled "The Many Facets of
International Education of Engineers. Paper topics range from "The Basic Education of
An Engineer" to "International Co-operation between Institutions." ECCE
President António Adão da Fonseca will be taking part in one of the round table
discussions. |
| For further
information, please contact: Françoise Bourgain, Chef du Service des Colloques
ENPC-PFE, 28 rue des Saints-Pères, 75343
Paris cedex 07
Telephone: +33 (0) 144 58 28 22 or 25, Fax:
+33 (0) 1 44 58 28 30
e-mail: bourgain@paris.enpc.fr., website: www.geiparis.org/sefi2000 |
Engineering Day, Budapest,Hungary, 5th
October
TRA-EFCT Annual Workshop, Lisbon, 28th
to 29th October
The President of ECCE from 1999 to 2002
is Professor Antonio Adao da Fonseca of the Ordem dos Engenheiros of Portugal; Past
President Gerard Baron of France remains on the Executive Committee as does John Whitwell
who is ECCE’s General Secretary. Newly elected to the Executive Committee in the
course of the year were Carl-August Guenther of Germany, Yrjoe Matikainen of Finland,
Vasillis Economopolous of Greece, Professor Iacint Manoliu of Romania and Dott. Alberto
Dusman of Italy. Hermann Sturm of the Deutsche Sektion des ECCE; and Theodore Voudiklaris
of the Association of Civil Engineers of Greece both resigned from the Executive
Committee. Yrjoe Matikainen and Carl August Guenther were elected by the Executive
Committee to act as Vice-Presidents, having responsibility for oversight of the
administrative and treasury functions respectively.
The ECCE secretariat is provided by the Institution of Civil
Engineers. John Whitwell, Deputy Secretary of Qualifications and External Affairs at ICE
is ECCE Secretary General and Diana Maxwell, ICE European Affairs Manager is Deputy
Secretary.
Initial enquiries about ECCE’s activities should be made
to your representative organisation or to the Secretariat. National organisations wishing
to enquire about membership of ECCE should contact the ECCE Secretariat for a full
application pac
k.
| Membership of ECCE at present
comprises: Cyprus, Czech
Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal,
Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey and the United Kingdom.
A formal application has been submitted by the Polish Association of Civil Engineers
and by the Russian Society of Civil Engineers. Lithuania has now attended a meeting of
ECCE as an observer as has Malta. Information on ECCE activities has also been requested
by Moldova and Belgium. |
| ECCE on-line – The ECCE
web site Created in 1998,
this sets out ECCE aims and objectives and also provides a compendium of ECCE news.
Through a special chamber, ECCE representatives are able to view proposed responses to
technical consultations on proposed EU legislation or measures.
National representatives of ECCE hold a password which they can share with selected
experts who have been asked to provide input to consultation documents or position papers
in progress. The site was created by a small specialist firm, Jackson and Bond, who have
made it possible for members to exchange news and views and respond to consultations
within this private forum.
Feedback on development of the site is welcomed by the ECCE Secretariat.
Contact details for Jackson and Bond are as follows: O. Bond Esq. Jackson and Bond,
South Bank House, Black Prince Road London SE1 7SJ FAX (0044) 20 7793 4048 |
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