The draft event programme for this year’s LCRIG Innovation Festival has been released, with delegates set to hear about skills, emerging technology, maintenance solutions and the latest innovations.
The event, which is taking place on 4 and 5 July at Newark Showground, will bring together local authorities, central government, the supply chain, associations and academia.
The overarching theme for this year’s event is ‘Showcasing emerging technology and maintenance solutions’ and LCRIG Content Director Alec Peachey will co-chair a session on this subject on the first day.
The panel will be made up of Matthew Eglinton, Head of Local Highways Maintenance, Innovation, and Resilience, Local Infrastructure at the Department for Transport (DfT); Darren Capes, Manager of the Transport Technology Forum (TTF) and ITS Policy Lead, DfT; along with representatives from Innovate UK and the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV).
Also on day one, there will be a session entitled ‘Meet the innovators’ which will feature updates from some of the winners of last year’s Innovation Festival and the councils they have been paired with.
Jonathan Evans, Head of Highways Client and Contractual Management Services at Lincolnshire County Council, will provide an update on the local authority’s innovation activities before delegates will be provided with an update on LCRIG’s Innovation Procurement System (IPS).
Day two will kick off with a session entitled ‘Skills factor: developing new skills and innovation in highways’. LCRIG’s Finance and Operations Director Kerry Winstanley will chair the session and is set to be joined by a number of younger highways professionals including Jake Rankin, Dorset Council; Harry Jezzard, West Sussex CC; and Samantha Luckings, Kent County Council. During the debate they will cover off a range of topics including:
- What attracted them to come into the highways sector?
- What more needs to be done to attract a younger and more diverse workforce into the industry?
- How big a role can net zero play in ensuring that we create a future generation of highway engineers?
There will also be an update from Laura Murphy, Head of Road Network Statistics: Road lengths and Road condition, Road Network Statistics, Department for Transport.
In addition to all of the above, delegates will be invited to see the latest demonstrations, visit our exhibitors, take part in scoring Qualifying Innovators and enjoy food stalls along with evening entertainment. There are a limited number of fully funded council places, which include accommodation and catering. You can apply here.
View the draft event agenda here.
(Picture – LCRIG)
