President's midterm report 2026

Its been a very active year in person, location and thought promoting the ICT and concrete technology in the first of my two-year term as President. It has been an extremely interesting, rewarding and fun time.

My promotion activities have brought me from our first international convention in Dublin; to The Concrete Society, Evolving Concrete in London; to the 8th International Conference of Durability of Concrete Structures, Heriot Watt, Edinburgh; to 3rd International Conference on Cement and Concrete Technology (ICCCT) in Qingdoa, China; to ACI Roundtable in Naples; back to Dublin for Irish Concrete Society/ICT Joint Lecture in Advanced Concrete Technology - Prof Jorge De Brito; off again to Institute of Concrete Technology SYPro Social event in London; to an industry day for UK Low Carbon Concrete Group with Chris McDonald MP, Minister for Industry in DESNEZ; to Concrete Society NW Region/ICT Graphene in Concrete, Manchester; to Irish Concrete Society Awards to The UK Concrete Show in Birmingham; to ACI Spring Convention in Chicago to and finally to Penetron International Industry Expert Forum in Athens.

Some highlights along the way include the announcement of my Presidency making national news in Ireland; seeing a Minister crush a concrete cube; being driven around the test track at 230+ km/hr at Research Institute of Highways in Beijing; visiting the Beer Museum at Qingdao; karaoke sessions including participation from Edwin and Raman; inaugurating the UIESAC (UCL/ICT East & South East Asia Centre); being a guest of honour at the Irish Concrete Society Awards with the first lady of the ICT; being an invited speaker at the Penetron Industry Expert Forum along with fellow ICT representatives in Athens and learning how to do traditional Greek dances; being invited to turn left on my flight to ACI Spring Convention, Rosemont as fitting for the ICT President and all that went with the trip including the Concrete Mixer; eating a battered Mars bar in Edinburgh; finding my Presidents office in Naples and generally meeting people, making friends, working hard and having fun.

Engagements with our SYPro Network and the energy that they are bringing to the ICT are really fulfilling and are a standout feature of our evolving present and lasting future. Things like their technical webinars, social activities (beer pong), and celebrating their success in the Emerging Talent Awards have brought me real satisfaction. The future is in good hands.

Three particular nice stories that resonated strongly with me during the year were the success of two brothers Michael and Kieron Dodd with distinctions in Stage 3 exams; father and daughter, Russell and Aimee Hare both achieving Technician Membership (TechICT) and Harshita Garg's beautiful children's story book, Joy & Loves Big Concrete Adventure.

The role of President is not just to promote but also to lead. I am ambitious to enhance everything about the ICT for the benefit of our membership. This means change and work of the collective. I am very grateful for the support of everyone on Council, our committees, our membership and beyond to date as we do make changes and plan our way forward. Our committees are active and our Chairs do great work to fulfil aspirations each year to enhance the ICT experience. As volunteers we give our time with the support of our employer's meaning change does take time as we focus on daily duties, so patience please while we progress. It is always great to receive constructive feedback and new ideas on enhancements to the ICT experience. Never be shy to offer those and do also consider your engagement in our committees and Council.

My ambition is growth and that can been seen in the increase in our new membership numbers, expanding connections on social media and the offerings we now have for personal progression. Seeing people progress through membership levels and beyond to those that have achieved Professional Registration such as TechEng and Chartered Engineer status this year is very encouraging and is one of the things that the ICT is all about.

We had two intakes of candidates (21) for the MSc in Advanced Concrete Technology at Heriot-Watt University with hopefully more to enrol this September. We also launched our own Self Guided Learning Platform for ICT Stage 2 - General Principles, with 16 candidates enrolled to prepare for the Stage 2 exam. Work to launch a similar course for Stage 3 - Practical Applications is well underway and enrolments will soon be sought for Autumn 2026. Our certification schemes in partnership with American Concrete Institute for CFTT and CSSTT continue to ensure the quality of technical staff in the field and the lab are at the highest level. Members and industry experts continue to use the ICT for peer reviewed publications to present their findings and points of view under the ICT brand. Work to update our website and continued enhancement of our Marketing and Comms, including our fabulous concrete earrings, is being led by our Vice President, Veronika Elfmarkova and countdown has started for her term as Presidency.

At my midterm point, I am confident I am not at the top of a bell curve and that I can contribute more for the growth of the ICT on a continued upward trajectory in my second year before passing on the role to my successor. I have great confidence that Veronika's term will see exponential growth in the ICT, in membership numbers and their experience with the ICT. I wrote about opportunity in my Presidents Perspectives piece in the yearbook and I really see this clearly. The needs and demands for concrete in terms of volume and performance are growing. The demands on people to fulfil these needs are growing too. The ICT is perfectly placed to meet the needs for both concrete and professionals. This is where the opportunity is for individuals, businesses and the ICT.

I was infected by concrete in the 1980s and by the ICT in 2004. I see no cure for these infections and I see exciting times ahead including our events throughout the year culminating in our AGM and Convention 2027 which will be held in Belfast where I will happily pass on the presidency to Veronika. See you along the road.