Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE)
One Great George Street
London SW1P 3AA
England
UK

Contact

The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is the world’s oldest engineering institution. It was established in 1818 and granted a Royal Charter in 1828. Its first President was Thomas Telford. Today ICE represents over 70,000 professionally qualified engineers worldwide.

ICE is an independent, non-political organisation registered as a charity in the United Kingdom. By the Royal Charter, ICE is granted the right to award the title “Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers”. Furthermore, as one of the member organisations of the Engineering Council (UK), ICE is licensed to award the protected titles Chartered Engineer, Incorporated Engineer and Engineering Technician.

While the majority of members live in the United Kingdom, ICE has an expanding international membership – about one fifth of the members live outside the UK. There are ICE members in 145 countries around the world.

ICE’s strategy is to be a leader in shaping the engineering profession. It aims to do this by:

• delivering products and services that are attractive, relevant & valued by members and employers globally,
• raising the profile of civil engineers,
• maintaining high professional standards,
• providing an international source of skills and knowledge for tomorrow's engineering,
• being broad and inclusive of all those engaged in civil engineering, 
• influencing governments, industry and public debate,
• partnering with relevant bodies.

Membership
ICE offers different grades of membership:

• Student
• Graduate
• Technician
• Member
• Fellow

Membership at each level is granted to those who fulfil the established criteria for each category. Full membership, which gives the right to use the designatory letters “CEng MICE”, requires the following:

• The achievement of the required educational base. This will normally be either:
  -- an undergraduate MEng programme accredited for CEng or
  -- an undergraduate BEng(Hons) programme accredited for CEng plus either an appropriate Masters degree accredited or approved, or appropriate Further Learning to Masters Level.
• A period of responsible work experience under early guidance and decreasing supervision, known as Initial Professional Development. The period considered adequate in order to obtain the range of structured training and depth of responsible experience necessary for a Professional Review is usually deemed to be at least four years.
• Success at the Chartered Professional Review (CPR). The CPR consists of the submission of an application for membership including the following documents:
  completed questionnaires from four sponsors who are members of ICE, an experience report, a project report, a record of achievement of core and specific objectives, a development action plan and personal development record. Then follows a presentation and an interview with two Reviewers and a written assignment under examination conditions.

Organisation
The Council is the governing body of the Institution. It is led by the President, and comprises members of all classes who represent the membership both within the UK and worldwide. Members of the Council are elected by the membership each year, and normally serve for a period of three years.

The President is elected annually by the Council, and is a leading Civil Engineer in the consulting, contracting or academic field. The President is the 'public face' of the profession, and champions the interests of civil engineers, in particular in dealings with Parliament, Government, and the media.

The Director General is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the Institution. Directors are responsible for areas covering Engineering Knowledge, Membership, Communications, Commercial Services and Finance and Resources. The Secretariat is located in Westminster, London, but ICE also has regional offices throughout the UK. International

More than a fifth of the membership of ICE is living and working outside the UK.

ICE has offices in Hong Kong, China and Russia. Ninety-five Country Representatives, who are Members of ICE, represent the Institution worldwide on a voluntary basis. ICE is also a member of several international bodies, such as the European Council of Civil Engineers (ECCE), the World Federation of Engineering Organisations (WFEO), the Commonwealth Engineers’ Council (CEC) and the European Society for Engineering Education (SEFI). Through the Engineering Council (UK), ICE is party to the Washington Accord (which provides a mechanism for mutual recognition of accredited education at Chartered Engineer level), the Sidney Accord (which provides joint recognition of academic programmes accredited at Incorporated Engineer level), and the Dublin Accord (which underpin the granting of Engineering Technician titles). The Engineering Council (UK) also represents all British engineering institutions in the European Federation of National Engineering Institutions (FEANI) and the Engineers’ Mobility Forum (EMF).

ICE has established co-operation agreements with engineering institutions of various other countries around the world, and has entered into Mutual Exemption Agreements with some of them to facilitate reciprocal membership.

ICE plays an active role internationally with regard to sustainable development and poverty alleviation, and also engages closely with the European Union.

Associated societies:

ICE's Associated Societies are crucial to the Institution's "learned society" function, contributing to the knowledge base across a wide range of specialist areas within the diverse arena of the built and natural environment.

ICE has the following Associated Societies:
The British Dam Society (BDS)
The British Geotechnical Association (BGA)
The British Hydrological Society (BHS)
The British Nuclear Energy Society (BNES)
The British Tunnelling Society (BTS)
Central Dredging Association (CEDA)
International Association of Hydraulic Engineering and Research (IAHR)
The International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID)
The Offshore Engineering Society (OES)
International Navigation Association (PIANC)
The Railway Civil Engineers' Association (RCEA)
The Society for Earthquake and Civil Engineering Dynamics (SECED)
Transport Planning Society (TPS)
The United Kingdom Society for Trenchless Technology (UKSTT)
Wind Engineering Society (WES)

Government departments in the UK responsible for civil engineering and construction matters:

Several Government departments and Ministries are involved to some extent in civil engineering and construction matters. The main government partner for the construction industry is the Department for Trade and Industry (DTI), which has a Construction Sector Unit. A Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, currently Nigel Griffith MP, is Minister for Construction, Small Business and Enterprise. DTI is also the government department responsible for energy.

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) is responsible for Building Regulations, housing policy, land planning and urban policy.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) engages with civil engineering related to the environment and rural affairs and the pursuit of sustainable development.

Civil engineering is also an important aspect of the work of the Department for Transport (DfT), which is responsible for all aspects of transport policy.

The Department for Education and Skills (DfES), being responsible for higher education, is relevant for issues concerning the education of engineers.