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¶ Introduction: Founded on 2
January 1818,
the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is an independent professional
association, based in central London,
representing civil engineers. Like its early membership, the majority
of its
current members are British engineers, but it also has members in more
than 150
countries around the world. In 2008, its total membership stood at more
than 80,000.
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¶ Origin: The
late 18th century and early 19th century saw the founding of many
learned
societies and professional bodies (for example, the Royal Society and
the Law
Society). Groups calling themselves civil engineers had been meeting
for some
years from the late 18th century, notably the Society of Civil Engineers
formed
in 1771 by John Smeaton
(renamed the Smeatonian Society after his death). At
that time, formal engineering in Britain
was limited to military
engineers , and in the spirit of self help prevalent at the time, the
Institution of Civil Engineers was founded as the world's first professional
engineering body.
The
initiative to found the Institution was taken in 1818 by three young
engineers,
Henry Robinson Palmer, James Jones and
Joshua
Field, who organised an inaugural meeting on 2 January 1818, at the
Kendal
Coffee House in Fleet Street. . The institution made little headway
until a key
step was taken - the appointment of Thomas
Telford as the first President of
the body. Greatly respected within the profession and blessed with
numerous
contacts across the industry and in government circles, he was
instrumental in
drumming up membership and getting a Royal
Charter for ICE in 1828.
This
official recognition helped establish ICE as the pre-eminent
organisation for
engineers of all disciplines.
¶ Purpose:
As
a professional body, it is committed
to support and promote professional learning
(both to students and existing practitioners), managing professional
ethics and
safeguarding the status of engineers, and representing the interests of
the
profession in dealings with government, etc. It sets standards for
membership
of the body; works with industry and academia to progress engineering
standards
and advises on education and training curricula.
The
Institution of Civil Engineers also
publishes technical studies covering
research and best practice in civil engineering. Another
service is publishing
stardards for drafting contracts such as the ICE Conditions of Contract
and the NEC Engineering
and Construction Contract. ICE's publishing business is
called Thomas
Telford Ltd. Thomas Telford Ltd. publish roughly 30 books
a year, including the
innovative ICE
Manuals series, and well as 24 world leading
civil-engineering
journals, including the Proceedings
of the Institution of Civil Engineers in
seventeen parts, Géotechnique
and Magazine
of Concrete Research. ICE members
also receive the weekly New Civil
Engineer magazine. However, this is not
published by Thomas Telford Ltd., but by Emap. All the profits of
Thomas
Telford Ltd. go back to the Institution to further its stated aim of
putting
civil engineers at the heart of society.
A
beautiful booklet brought out by ICE & called The Little
Book of
Civilisation 2 looks
at the
amazing ways civil engineers overcome the challenges of creating and
maintaining infrastructure for us, and for future generations. Click
Here to download it.
The
Institution makes a series of awards
to recognise the work of its members. In
addition to awards for technical papers, reports and competition
entries it
awards a number of medals for different achievements
¶ Membership:
ICE's professionally qualified grades of membership are
internationally
recognised and highly valued. Attainment of these is widely viewed as a
significant personal achievement and a benchmark of a
technician's or
engineer's competences and professional standing.
The
opportunity to join ICE is available
to civil engineers, technicians and technical/scientific
specialists at every stage of their professional
career, from
students and apprentices to senior board directors.
Grades of membership:
People
of all ages and levels of experience apply for membership of ICE. There
is a
grade of membership to suit everyone’s needs.
There
are eight grades of
membership :
- Student
- Graduate
- Technician
Member
- Associate
Member
- Member
- Fellow
- Affiliate
and
Companion
For
more information
on grades of membership and Qualifying criterion for membership download &
read the official booklet The value of
professional qualification brought out by ICE
Find
Your Route To
Membership: This
route selector available
at ICE website will allow you to determine your route to becoming a
Member of
ICE. It will advise you on what your next step will be based on your
qualifications and experience. Please note that the route selector is
only a guide
and therefore should be used to determine what stage you are at and
what your
next step is to progress.
Fees
and Subscriptions: There
are two types of
payments required for ICE membership:
Application Fees - one off payments
Subscription Fees - paid annually
Fees are reviewed annually. Please note that the subscription
year runs from
January to December.
Click
Here to see fee details...
For
more information on how
to become member, Click Here to go the relevant page
of official website of
ICE.
For
any queries, call or mail at appropriate contact details
given in this page of official website of
ICE
