This month’s guest is Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) trustee for policy and external affairs Jonathan Spruce, who joins host Rob Hakimian to discuss the trials of the UK’s megaproject High Speed 2 (HS2).

The ICE recently put out a report about what went wrong with the project and lessons that can be taken forward to other projects, compiled through interviews with people at all levels in the project.

Jonathan and Rob discuss the findings of the report as well as developments with HS2 since its publication, debating the role of HS2 Ltd, the handling of the project by the various governments entrusted with its management, how the messaging around the desired outcomes of the project needed to be refined and much more.

Prior to the interview portion, Rob is joined by NCE senior reporter Tom Pashby to discuss their recent reporting about the developments in delivering Saudi Arabia’s gigaproject Neom, especially in light of the recent ITV documentary which shed light on the abject working conditions for migrants.

In the latest episode of The Engineers Collective from New Civil Engineer, host Rob Hakimian welcomes Professor John Orr from the Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE) and Cambridge University Department of Engineering.

They discuss the IStructE’s upcoming 2024 Structural Awards, which seeks to honour the outstanding structures from all over the globe that have been completed in the last year.

After discussing the history of the awards and how they’ve evolved over the years, John talks about what the IStructE looks for in the outstanding candidates. These are centred around the four key judging attributes: planet, people, process and profession. John highlights four entries from this year’s Structural Awards, which offer variety of type, purpose and location and were emblematic of each of those four attributes.

The discussion concludes with looking ahead to further editions of the Structural Awards and what factors John would like to see more of from entries going forward.

Prior to the interview portion, Rob welcomes NCE’s senior reporters Tom Pashby and Thomas Johnson to discuss recent site visits to GE Vernova’s new valve manufacturing facility, Tottenham Hotspur’s stadium and under construction nuclear power plant Hinkley Point C.

The latest episode of the Engineers Collective is out now: listen in on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or your usual platform.

This month we’re joined by the International Hydropower Association (IHA) to discuss the “grandfather” of renewable energy. IHA senior energy policy manager Rebecca Ellis chats to NCE news editor Rob Hakimian about the history and importance of pumped storage hydro, covering how it works, its ability to “store” energy and why this is so crucial as the world transitions to a zero carbon energy system.

Rebecca also tells us about the engineering and risks involved with developing pumped storage hydro schemes, talks about the appetite for pumped storage hydro projects in the UK and around the globe and highlights some of the exciting new schemes and technologies that are emerging in the sector.

Prior to the interview portion, Rob is joined by NCE senior reporter Tom Pashby to discuss the potential impact of Hinkley Point C on fish populations in the Bristol Estuary and how a recent legal ruling could impact its plans, as well as the news that Liverpool City Region’s Mersey Tidal barrage scheme is moving forward.