Celebrating civil engineering surveying

CICES members, staff and key industry figures gathered in Bristol on 25 September for the institution’s annual dinner.

During the evening, immediate past CICES president Alex Pearsall, associate director at Turner and Townsend, handed over the reins to newly appointed president Marek Suchocki, who outlined his vision for the year ahead through his presidential theme, Innovate, Integrate, Inspire.

 

In her speech, Alex congratulated Marek on his appointment and reflected on her own presidential year:

"It has been an enormous privilege to serve as your president. Thank you for your support, your friendship and your trust throughout the last twelve months. I'd like to leave you with a thought that's guided my presidential year from start to finish. The future of our profession will not be determined by chance. It will be shaped by all of us."

Marek thanked Alex for her dedication and achievements during her presidential year, before sharing his hopes for the year ahead.

A much-anticipated fixture in the CICES events calendar, our annual dinner provides members with the opportunity to enjoy a three-course meal while networking with fellow professionals and CICES staff.

This year's event also featured a charity raffle, raising more than £1,900 for Action for Children, the charity chosen by immediate past president Alex Pearsall.

 

Worthy award winners

The glamorous occasion was also a chance to get together to celebrate the best in the industry, with prestigious awards handed out to inspiring individuals on the night. You can read more about all award winners below.

President’s Medal

The CICES 2026 President’s Medal was presented to BAM’s Adam Holmes FCInstCES, who has been CICES honorary secretary for more than five years and has also held several voluntary roles within the institution prior to this.

Adam, who is a currently a principal planning engineer at BAM said:

“It is incredibly rewarding to be awarded the Medal. The role of Honorary Secretary is largely a voluntary, behind-the-scenes position, so to be recognised in this way is both humbling and gratifying. I am proud to have contributed to the institution and honoured to receive such prestigious recognition from my peers".

Bert Palmer Memorial Award

Meanwhile, the Bert Palmer Memorial Award was presented to Lauren Holland MCInstCES, in recognition her outstanding contribution to promoting civil engineering surveying.

Lauren, who is currently business manager for the education sector at Hexagon Infrastructure & Geospatial, said:

"It is a huge honour to win this award A lot of the work I do around education, early careers and promoting the profession comes from genuinely caring about its future, so to be recognised for that personally means a great deal.

What makes the award particularly special is what it represents. Bert Palmer did so much to raise the profile of the institution, the profession and to encourage young people into the sector, so to receive an award created in his memory is something I am incredibly proud of."

Institution medal

The Geospatial Survey Association (GSA) were awarded the Institution Medal.

Commenting on the award win, Rachel Tyrrell, CEO of the GSA, said:

“The Geospatial Survey Association is immensely proud to receive the CICES Institution Medal.

For decades, people across GSA, formerly TSA, and CICES have worked together through the Survey Liaison Group and across the profession, often away from the spotlight, united by a shared commitment to strengthen and promote geospatial surveying.

This recognition celebrates that collective effort: helping clients understand the value of professional geospatial surveying, raising awareness of career opportunities, supporting appropriate qualifications and promoting the professional standards on which our sectors depend.

Our President Claire Fenwick and Vice-President Glenn Lickman were enormously proud to accept the medal on behalf of everyone who has contributed to that work.

As The Geospatial Accord gathers pace, that same spirit of collaboration and unity will be more important than ever.  Our sincere thanks to Alex Pearsall & CICES for this tremendous honour”.

EDI awards

In a first for the institution, we were also pleased to present two Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) awards to two deserving individuals in recognition of their dedication to promoting EDI in civil engineering surveying.

Simon Navin was awarded the EDI Trailblazer award while Hannah Jenkins won the EDI Voice award.

Speaking about winning the EDI Trailblazer award, Simon said:

"I’m incredibly proud to receive the inaugural CICES EDI Trailblazer Award. It recognises not just something I care deeply about, but the practical action needed to turn equity, diversity and inclusion from good intentions into lasting change.

"Through my involvement with CICES -including the Council of Management, the Presidential Chain and previously chairing its EDI Council - I’ve tried to bring fair challenge, remove barriers, create fairer opportunities and encourage honest conversations. I hope this award helps inspire others to turn commitment into meaningful action".

 These EDI awards were gratefully sponsored by Topcon.

Commercial Manager award

The Commercial Manager prize was awarded to Scott Haigh, of Kier. This award is presented to an individual who is judged to have made an important contribution to the civil engineering surveying industry, either individually or through team leadership. 

We would like to congratulate all of our award winners and say a big thank you to the sponsors of our annual dinner: G2 Surveys, KOREC, Applications in Cadd, CHC Navigation, Leica Geosystems and Topcon.

If you'd like to join us at other upcoming CICES events in the meantime, visit our complete event calendar here. 

Save the date! Our annual dinner next year will take place in Epsom Downs racecourse on Friday 24 September 2027.

 

Watch: CICES president Marek Suchocki on his presidential theme: Innovate, Integrate, Inspire.