Young CEDA looks back
Young CEDA Commission (YCC)
Young CEDA is pleased to report on another successful two years spent engaging students and supporting young professionals in our industry. Commission members have met many students and young professionals during our events and national section club evenings. We have been active on social media and currently have around 500 members in the Young CEDA LinkedIn group.
Young CEDA Events
We organised a number of events during the period, including a seminar in London which gave attendees a flavour of what it was like to work in the industry. They heard from five enthusiastic speakers, from leading organisations, who talked about their experiences and the opportunities available in the sector.
Visit to IJmuiden Locks: On 29th March 2018, we had a joint excursion, with Young PIANC, to the locks of Ijmuiden for 100 students and young professionals. During a boat trip to the project site they heard from several people who are involved in the project. After the boat trip, there were presentations on the tender procedure, the technical details of the lock doors, and the dredging and reclamation works of this project, from Rijkswaterstaat, IV-Infra and Boskalis & Van Oord. The event ended with networking over dinner.
Visit to 2 working dredgers: On 12th April 2018, Young CEDA Belgian sections organised a visit to two Jan de Nul dredgers for 50 students and young professionals. TSHD Taccola and CSD Fernão de Magalhães were jointly berthed along a quay wall in the Port of Ghent in preparation for their next projects.
The visits included an extensive tour of each vessel, led by crew members, and an academic session highlighting the fundamental skills of dredging. The day finished in the bar of the Fernão, where everyone enjoyed drinks and the chance to talk to Joost De Ridder, captain of the vessel, and other staff members. The amount of interesting questions, from the group, on working abroad and engineering skills requirements, illustrated the high level of enthusiasm to join the dredging community.
Dredging and Disposal of Contaminated Sediment: On 9th October 2018 we had an excellent turn out for our half-day seminar, in London, on contaminated dredge material, with over 50 people attending the event. Four speakers spoke on a range of topics, from varying perspectives, covering best practice, legislation and the challenges and solutions in relation to various projects. The event was chaired by Jeremy Littlejohn from Boskalis Westminster. The lively Q&A sessions included discussions on the impact regulators have, and how specific methodologies can be used to minimise the environmental harm caused by contaminated dredging. The day ended with drinks, kindly sponsored by CEDA UK, which provided an informal atmosphere for further discussion and making new acquaintances.
Visit to Royal IHC: On 16th November, 35 students and young professionals from the dredging industry visited Royal IHC in Kinderdijk and became shipyard managers for the day!
After an introduction to Royal IHC, by Jort van Wijk (Manager R&D dredging technology), the group took a look around the shipyard to get a taste of shipbuilding. This set the scene for the real event… stepping into the role of shipyard CEO and competing in the IHC Ships game for the title of ‘best shipyard manager’! After one and a half hours of competition, the best shipyard manager was celebrated with drinks and a real Lego IHC Beaver!
CEDA Dredging Days 2019 Pitch Talks:
Traditionally, Young CEDA hosts one hour of the CEDA Dredging Days 2019 programme. We gave 8 young professionals and students the chance to pitch their work without having to submit a paper. The presentations were given in PechaKucha style, a fast-paced format where the presenter showed 20 slides for 20 seconds each. The format was a nice break, from the longer presentations that make up the rest of the program, and was well received by both the audience and the presenters. It allowed for a diverse set of topics, ranging from academic to light-hearted, and from project-related to the presentation of new equipment. It was a nice way to give airtime to young talent and introduce them to the dredging industry at large.
General organisation
Young CEDA remained well-staffed during 2018 and 2019, with representatives from the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, France and the United Kingdom. Commission representatives took part in several other CEDA commissions notably, the Education Activities Commission, the Strategy Commission and national section club evenings.