Lectures (Autumn 2013) - Introductory Seminar for Students

On Tuesday 5th November the young members gave a presentation to students about the benefits of the IStructE, and what it has to offer them.

Post author: Tasha Scott  

Site Visit (Summer 2013) - Birmingham New Street Station

Graduates and students in the region gathered to attend our Young Members’ Panel summer event on Wednesday 10^th July. The afternoon began with a site visit to Birmingham New Street Station, kindly facilitated by MACE. The group visited New Street as it is by far the most significant engineering project in our region.

The visit included a photo-story presentation of construction to date, with intriguing anecdotes about the various structural, natural and logistical challenges that have been overcome so far. Much of the story concerned the new John Lewis building, which required splicing with very heavy-looking connections to allow construction to progress, and has experienced issues around core construction caused by below-freezing temperatures. Everyone involved in the New Street project was clearly very pleased to have passed the 28 April switchover milestone, where the newly constructed half of the station was opened and the old concourse closed. The team had worked round the clock to meet the switchover date.

Once in the site, our young engineers could witness progress first-hand. The atrium roof should prove a brilliant feature when it’s completed, and they were also able to get a close look at the steels of the John Lewis building (which will eventually be hidden by fit-out and services). After the site visit, further discussion was had at The Sun on the Hill, an excellent way to round off the evening!

A huge thank you must go to Tom McDermott from MACE for coordinating with the Young members Panel to organise this event and to John Baxter from MACE, Kevin James from Network Rail and David Oliver from Atkins for accompanying the group on this visit and answering our questions.

Events like this are invaluable for young members who are perhaps unable to visit sites as frequently as they might like. These trips allow them to see how their work might be realised, and encourage them to think about the potential challenges that arise on site.

We are currently looking for volunteers to help us organise events for the 2013/14 academic year, so if you’d like to get involved please let us know at istructeymp@gmail.com.

Post author: Tasha Scott