Membership benefit: events and networking
Networking is sometimes seen as a dirty word, with negative associations with careerist, ruthless ambition.
But really, the genuinely positive benefits of connecting with new people in, or adjacent to, your field of expertise are numerous:
- Ideas and knowledge sharing
- Collaboration
- Best practice development
- Technology and innovation learning
- Social and friendship
- Thought leadership
- Inspiration and culture change
- Equity, diversity & inclusion (EDI)
And many more - which is why CICES members are encouraged to attend events, conferences, webinars and social occasions, in order to enhance and enrich their own experiences as individuals.
And usually, as a result, the desirable career benefits follow organically.
CICES events
Whether it's a local event organised by one of the integral regional committees, or an industry wide annual occasion such as GeoBusiness, CICES is synonymous with getting together.
Our members meet, talk, collaborate and form new initiatives - creating opportunities to advance our profession in ways that wouldn't happen in isolation.
A recent example was the launch of our Women's Network, born out of ideas shared following a panel discussion on EDI at GeoBusiness 2023.
From these shoots of inspiration, a new leadership group has grown, determined to advance the cause of women in civil engineering surveying.
And sometimes, the outcome of a CICES event may not be as noble or grand - it may simply mean making a new friend or connecting with a like-minded individual.
Building relationships
Whether professional or social, the relationship building enabled by CICES events can impact you positively in several ways, such as:
- Access to mentoring opportunities
- Career progression
- Invitations to collaborate
- Authoring/publishing opportunities
- CPD fulfilment
- New activities/interests outside of work
And much more besides - the outcomes you gain are almost entirely up to you, there are no compulsory events and no required areas to cover.
And you can even help drive the direction of the events programmes that CICES puts on, by becoming involved in your regional committee.
Your direct input could help deliver positive impacts for colleagues and attract new potential members to your institution.
If you're keen to find out more about attending events with CICES, or getting involved with organising alongside your regional committee, please contact events@cices.org.