The civil engineering profession was celebrated by British and Hungarian dignitaries, noted experts and members of the Academy at the opening session of a prestigious international conference in Budapest.

“Engineering is possibly the most important industrial activity that we have on this planet, since there are so many issues that we face, both climatic and social, that will require engineers, among them civil engineers, to solve”, HRH Prince Andrew, The Duke of York emphasised in his address at the opening session of the “Civil Engineer 200” conference, organised for the 200th anniversary of the establishment of ICE (Institution of Civil Engineers). The event was held in the ceremonial hall of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and was attended by President of Hungary János Áder, Minister for Innovation and Technology László Palkovics, Hungary’s ambassador to the UK Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky, Her Majesty's Ambassador to Hungary Iain Lindsay, as well as prominent members of the profession, including Rector of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics János Józsa, Dean László Dunai and university professor László Kollár (Faculty of Civil Engineering) and President of the Hungarian Chamber of Engineers Gyula Nagy. As the royal patron of ICE, the dignitary pointed out that young people should be encouraged to recognise the importance and necessity of the civil engineering profession.

“Everything around us, one way or another, is the work of engineers”, said Queen Elizabeth II’s son in praise of the civil engineering profession at the anniversary event, where the official programme also included an attraction by BME’s civil engineering students: the bridge loading test of the new Danube bridge’s model. The high-level guests watched with interest how the model responded to even double the planned static weight by slightly bending and suffering no damage.

Urbanisation in Europe has reached unprecedented levels over the past 200 years, said President of Hungary János Áder, chief patron of the event in his opening address, pointing out that this progress was mainly driven by the work of civil engineers. He said of the future that the pace of urbanisation is expected to accelerate further. By 2050 three out of four people will live in an urban environment, which means that civil engineers will have even more to do, designing and building more infrastructure in future decades than in the past 2000 years; during these developments the aspects of environmental protection and sustainability must also be considered”.

“Modern civilisation cannot exist without innovative and responsible civil engineers, whose work combines state-of-the-art technology, modernity and development, as well as traditions and culture”, said Minister for Innovation and Technology László Palkovics in his welcome address, adding that “while scientists are all about ideas, engineers are all about actions”.

Engineers can only meet the challenges of the 21st century if they are prepared, have all the necessary equipment at their disposal and also have the support of society, stressed President of the Hungarian Chamber of Engineers Gyula Nagy, pointing out that the aim of the event is to showcase the works of engineers which define and shape our environment”.

The leadership of ICE and MMK decided to renew the previously signed cooperation agreement between the two organisations, within which they also selected the recipient of the Tierney Clark Award, named after the designer of the Chain Bridge (Editor's note: namesake of the Scottish engineer Adam Clark, who was in charge of building the bridge.) The award was presented jointly by President of Hungary János Áder and HRH Prince Andrew, The Duke of York.

After the award ceremony János Áder and HRH Prince Andrew, The Duke of York were presented with a model of the Chain Bridge by László Szántó, President of the Structural Design Section of the Hungarian Chamber of Engineers and Dean László Dunai.

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Photo: Philip János, epitomernok200.hu