A one-day international forum on the theme “Climate Change and Sustainability” jointly organized by Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) and Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) was held at SJTU, Xuhui Campus on 15th July, 2019. The forum was intended to discuss the defining issue of our time i.e. ‘climate change’ and the unprecedented efforts required to tackle this issue by promoting sustainable materials/buildings and latest innovations and technologies. The forum was attended by experts, young researchers, ICE representatives and students from all over the world concerning the field of climate change, renewable energy, recycled and innovative materials. Dr Patrick Chan, the Chairman of ICE East Asia Committee, chaired the opening and keynote sessions.

The forum was held in the engineering hall of the Xuhui campus, SJTU. The opening ceremony was attended by Dr. Patrick Chan, Ms. Catherine Cole, ICE International Director, Mr. Paul Gordon, ICE Regional Director of International Operation, Mr. Geoff Mills, ICE China representative, Mr. Ian Cowan, ICE Korea representative, Ms. Evan Kong, ICE Regional Director Hong Kong, Ms. Li Ping, Deputy Director of International Affairs and Director of International Student Center in SJTU, Professor Meng Zhou, Dean of School of Oceanography SJTU, Professor Jian Yang, Assistant Dean of the School of Naval Architecture, Ocean and Civil Engineering and Director General of ICE Shanghai Branch, Tao Ma Assistant Professor from the School of Mechanical Engineering SJTU, Mr. Penny Cheung, Director Arup Shanghai and Technical Director SAP Shanghai Mr Kai Mi.

On behalf of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Ms. Li Ping expressed her warm welcome and heartfelt thanks to the guests. Ms. Li Ping introduced the history and the development of Shanghai Jiao Tong University over the years, and introduced the making of summer international schools.

The forum was held in the engineering hall of the Xuhui campus, SJTU. The opening ceremony was attended by Dr. Patrick Chan, Ms. Catherine Cole, ICE International Director, Mr. Paul Gordon, ICE Regional Director of International Operation, Mr. Geoff Mills, ICE China representative, Mr. Ian Cowan, ICE Korea representative, Ms. Evan Kong, ICE Regional Director Hong Kong, Ms. Li Ping, Deputy Director of International Affairs and Director of International Student Center in SJTU, Professor Meng Zhou, Dean of School of Oceanography SJTU, Professor Jian Yang, Assistant Dean of the School of Naval Architecture, Ocean and Civil Engineering and Director General of ICE Shanghai Branch, Tao Ma Assistant Professor from the School of Mechanical Engineering SJTU, Mr. Penny Cheung, Director Arup Shanghai and Technical Director SAP Shanghai Mr Kai Mi.

On behalf of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Ms. Li Ping expressed her warm welcome and heartfelt thanks to the guests. Ms. Li Ping introduced the history and the development of Shanghai Jiao Tong University over the years, and introduced the making of summer international schools.

Professor Yang Jian introduced the schedule and arrangement of the day and briefly introduced the development of the summer international school program, “Green City Green Future”. 

Ms. Catherine Cole gave opening address to the attendees and appreciated for arranging such a good forum on a very important issue the world is facing right now. She also told that this is the first time ICE has started a summer school program outside the UK. She firmly believed that this is a significant starting point and hoped that there will be more opportunities to cooperate with Shanghai Jiao Tong University in the future.  

In the keynote speaker session, Professor Meng Zhou in detail explored the factors responsible for climate change and the associated risks. Professor Zhou emphasized that climate change is a grand global challenge for the mankind and proposed multi-approaches such as green living, zero-carbon fuel technologies and geoengineering. 

Mr. Geoff Mills shared “Planning your career in project management - the Ten Commandments” to the students present, and introduced his ten valuable suggestions for project management career planning. His wonderful narrative and wisdom won the hearts of the audience and were warmly appreciated. At the end Mr. Penny Cheung gave a lecture on “Building Sustainability” and shed some light on those projects in which Arup participated in. He also introduced the application of various new designs, construction and operation technologies for green buildings. 

After the keynote speakers and group photo sessions, Mr. Kai Mi introduced the SAP's application in Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence technologies, demonstrated the infinite potential of Industry 4.0 technology, and shared the artificial design of women's shoes through artificial intelligence technology. The presentation won the praise of the audience.

Assistant Professor Bo Li introduced their research group work on sustainable construction materials for the maintenance and sustainability of concrete infrastructure. He also discussed in detail the new sustainable technique which consists of fabric reinforced alkali-activated slag cement containing cementitious material and fabric mesh which is developed for structural strengthening.

Ms. Yangyan Du from Building Research Establishment (BRE) gave a detailed introduction to the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) system for the full life cycle assessment of green buildings. Dr. Isaac Galobardes of Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University introduced sustainable materials known as ‘functionally graded concrete’ (FGC) and highlighted the benefits of FGC produced with fibres and recycled aggregates. Assistant Professor Tao Ma from the School of Mechanical Engineering, SJTU shared the development of renewable energy in China and presented the current status, challenges and future prospects of renewable energy in China. Professor Yang Jian introduced a series of studies on the recycling of construction waste and its reuse as concrete aggregate. He also discussed the artificial intelligence methods used for the prediction of 28-days compressive strength of treated recycled aggregate concrete with pozzolanic materials. Zhao Jiaxin introduced the sustainability of infrastructure and introduced the needs and strategies of sustainable infrastructure in modern society.

In the last session, ICE International Cooperation Director Paul Gordon, ICE Hong Kong District Director Eva Kong, and ICE Korea Representative Ian Cowan introduced the ICE membership system and career development path, the development status of the Hong Kong ICE branch and the development status of the ICE branch in Korea. Later, Student Chapter representatives from Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, the University of Nottingham Ningbo, Shanghai University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University introduced the summary of the work in the past year and the prospects for future work. Finally, Xiong Wuyue introduced the overseas infrastructure construction risk research project that they will travel to Pakistan during the summer vacations.

During the final discussion session of the meeting, the guests had a lively exchange with the students present. Catherine Cole made a closing speech for this meeting. In the applause, this meeting was successfully concluded.