Last year, ICE started using a state-of-the-art web-conferencing system to enhance communications with members and to increase the accessibility of its learned society events. Technical support manager Richard Armstrong provides an update.
The ability to reach out and interact with members to share knowledge, opinions and technical expertise is vital to the success of any professional institution. The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) and nine other UK engineering institutions have thus adopted a new web-conferencing system which enables all members to participate in live events online—or to download them at a later date.
Called i-Seminars, the system was created by Interwise and has been introduced to the science and engineering community in the UK over the last four years by The Engineering and Technology Board for around 10% of the normal cost.
Lectures and seminars
ICE started using the system for events in September 2006 and to date it has been used for approximately 20 seminars, 15 prestige lectures and over 60 membership and regional meetings.
At the inaugural Scott Wilson transport lecture in October 2006, in addition to the 200 people in the lecture theatre in London another 110 applied to attend the lecture online. In May 2007, ICE ran its first paid-for live online seminar entitled Everything an expert needs to know, and at the 5th annual British Geotechnical Association conference in London in June 2007, chairman Mike Davies delivered his keynote address from New Zealand.
According to Jon Prichard, ICE director of engineering policy and innovation, ‘Using i-Seminars has had a very positive impact on our ability to communicate with our members. It has allowed members on the other side of the world to join lectures as if they were here in London. This has undoubtedly improved the value we provide to members who traditionally could not access our lecture programme—which is in turn an aid to recruiting new members worldwide.’
He added that, ‘This is not about saving money, it is about getting more for our money.
We can now deliver the same high-quality programme as before for a relatively small amount of staff time and reach a wider audience, either live or at a time of their own choosing. For every lecture we run we are getting, on average, an additional increase in audience online of up to 20% with a further opportunity to extend our reach through the download portal.'
Live events can be attended and past events can be downloaded from the ICE's online lectures portal at www.ice.org.uk/lectures.
Helping new members join
The system has also proved invaluable in explaining to potential chartered civil engineers across the UK and the world how ICE can help them gain registration and qualification on an individual basis.
The routes are complex in content and each application has to be tailored to the individual. The system allows a two-way conversation using the route standard documents to explain what the individuals need to do.
According to Andrew Roberts, part of the ICE team responsible for the registration of technician, incorporated and chartered engineers under Engineering Council (UK) licence, ‘One of the main positive differences it has made to my role is the ability to refer to a document whilst discussing a critical issue, which means that the previous process of email or letter exchange has been shortcircuited. I am able to explain precisely what needs to be done and show the other person participating exactly what I am talking about, and vice versa.’
ICE members with an internet connection can now listen live to speakers at ICE events, watch their slides and email questions
ICE members with an internet connection can now listen live to speakers at ICE events, watch their slides and email questions
University education
As part of its remit to forge closer relationships with the higher education sector, ICE has been collaborating with the department of civil and environmental engineering at University College London on the benefits web-conferencing could bring to enhancing subject-specific knowledge.
The university is about to embark upon an MSc taster course entitled Disasters and the role of engineering, which will rely on i-Seminars to allow international and UK participants to attend lectures remotely. It will also eventually be used to stream lectures, which will be accessible via its website. The technology will be monitored and used on a larger scale, possibly within the affiliated MSc in earthquake engineering with disaster management.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, Richard Armstrong, TEL +44 (0) 20 7222 7722, EMAIL richard.armstrong@ice.org.uk WEB www.ice.org.uk/lectures
