Civil Engineering Association

Brno 2010

INTRODUCTION

The future of a profession resides with the young for they are the next generation of professionals. The best thing that the senior members of the profession can do is to provide the opportunities for the young to develop their talents. That was one of the motivations we had when we organised the first YGEC in UK in 1981. I am very pleased that what we started nearly 30 years ago has grown and flourished. With the strong support of ISSMGE the programme of conferences for Young Geotechnical Engineers is well established world-wide. All the ISSMGE regions now have regional conferences, many national societies have their own conferences and so far there have been four International Young Geotechnical Engineers Conferences. These have been organised largely by senior professionals but their continuing success has been due to the enthusiasm and contributions of the young.

Looking at the list of papers submitted to this 20th EYGEC there is a wide variety of topics reflecting the diversity of geotechnical engineering. Each paper will be formally presented by its author and this, both writing a technical paper and delivering it formally in public, is part of the development of a professional. But so too is the process of accumulating and evaluating information especially when it has been delivered as a presentation. One of my best mentors, Professor Peter Wroth, taught me always to take notes. His view was that because you cannot remember everything that is said and you cannot write as fast as the speaker can speak you have to concentrate on what is being said, filter the important bits and note those. (He would also privately award marks for each presentation - both for the technical quality and the presentation skills – but those he kept confidential.) I encourage the young always to take notes.

Another motivation for organising the first YGEC was to show young professionals that they are not alone and their peers have exactly the same problems to contend with. This is especially true for young professionals working in small research groups or in small companies. Although the formal sessions are an important part of any conference the other equally important times are the intervals and social events when participants discuss their issues informally in smaller groups, often with refreshments. This is when technical opinions are revised and lasting friendships made.

In addition to the participants there are two groups of senior professionals that contribute to the success of a YGEC: the Organising Committee and the guest keynote speakers. All willingly give their time, experience and organisational skills. Here is an opportunity to discuss technical issues, formally and informally, with top professionals and it is an opportunity not to be missed. But ultimately the success of the conference, like any enterprise, depends on the young. They should observe, learn and most of all enjoy the occasion.