On Monday 12th of June, FIBE2 CDT students attended the National Highways PhD Conference in Birmingham. The Conference was based on the theme of Delivering the Future - Safe, Reliable and Sustainable Highways. The event brought together many leading figures in National Highways notably CEO Nick Harris, Chief Scientific Advisor Professor Sarah Sharples, Head of Research Phil Proctor and Executive Director, Safety Engineering and Standards, Mike Wilson, who held the keynote speech. 19 students came from across many U.K. universities all sponsored by National Highways, with 9 students from FIBE2 CDT.
The conference comprised a panel discussion with senior leaders from National Highways followed by an audience Q & A, and not to forget a wide ranging selection of presentations from the students on their research. It culminated in an Elevator Pitch Competition with awards given by CEO Nick Harris.
And how could we not mention that FIBE2 students brought home a strong haul of the awards on offer much to the pride of FIBE2 Directors Professor Abir Al-Tabbaa, Professor Ioannis Brilakis and FIBE2 Manager Heba Hamad who were also there to engage with National Highways and support the FIBE2 students. The photo below shows from left to right, Doug Morley - Best Researcher Presentation, Tianzheng Fu - Best Poster, Sam Schaefer - Runner-up for Best Poster and Percy Lam - Best Elevator Pitch . Well done All!
The event gave students the chance to discuss progress with their industry supervisors and connect with others in the company, whether that be to arrange site visits, secondments and data gathering, or just to gain industry perspectives on their research.A big thank you to National Highways for organising such a stimulating event, we already look forward to attending again next year! - Doug Morley, Cohort 2 Representative