Congatulations to the efforts of all members of the Foundation for the launching of the Foundation website.The Foundation is starting a promising journey which many people will tred and share with ITA.I am personally committed to the success of the Foundation and ITACET and the Foundation will work to ensure its future.

I attended the third formal meeting of the Founders in Lausanne on the 3rd March .There is genuine ambition by the Founders to create an exciting educational and training agenda and itinerary for the next 2 years. I say the next two years because if we can stimulate good interest in the opening years of the Foundation then it can demonstrate the need and value of its purpose and vision.

There is not a day goes by without me receiving further evidence of the shortage of skilled technical skills that affect the Tunnelling profession and general tunnelling industry .ITA through the Foundation is therefore well placed to serve this need.

The training course in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in December in 2009 was a great success with over 80 registered attendees. Our Chairman , His Excellency Al Mogbel, is much encouraged by this success and is planning for further courses in the region soon.

Other venues and locations are now being arranged for further courses this and next year—you will see this on the website. ITA is lucky to have 3 key people driving this initiative –His Excellency Al Mogbel our Chairman, Professor Andre Assis and the Executive Director of the Foundation Claude Berenguier .

Vision is an abstract concept, but these three gentlemen will make the Foundation real and of value to the tunnelling community Also there is the support of ITACET and Working Group 18 which provide the vital link to the formation of the technical training modules , lecturers and the substance and gravity of the technical subjects.

There will be a change of Ex-Co in May of this year with new Vice Presidents and Ex-Co members being elected along with a new President. The ITA is constant and with new Ex-Co members the ITA will continue to rely on the Foundation to fulfil its commitment to Training and Education according to our Strategy of 2007 .

Its my pleasure to have been President of ITA during the formation of the Foundation and l have seen the efforts made by everyone to make sure that Training and Education are one of the main platforms and duties of ITA .

The Global demand for tunnelling and the use of underground space will increase and so will the need for skills .

ITA and its Foundation will meet this challenge .

Best wishes,

Martin Knights

Martin Knights

President of the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association.

One more course has been added to the six already  existing ones:
 

• Management of (User) Safety in Underground Facilities

Follow this link to our Portfolio Page to read and download the tentative courses>>

The council of the ITACET Foundation met in Riyadh, december 7th 2009. 

At this occasion, they decided about the next actions of the FOundation, acknowledged and welcomed the creation of the courses Portefolio and decided about the conditions of acceptance of the Donations.

Main decisions taken during the meeting of the Council of Foundation, Riyadh December 7th, 2009  

The members of the Council welcomed the actions made since the inaugural meeting last September:

• Press release concerning the creation of the Foundation
• Opening of the website: www.foundation.itacet.org
• Creation of the logo.
• Preparation of a PowerPoint on “ITA and Training”

The Council decided about the next actions of the Foundation:

• 2-day Training Session on “General Tunnelling” (14-15 May) at the occasion of WTC 2010 in Vancouver 
• 2-day Training Session on “Holistic Approach for Sprayed Concrete” (20-21 May) at the occasion of WTC2011 in Helsinki
• Other actions are expected in different parts of the world

The Council welcomed the Portfolio prepared with the ITA-CET Committee: seven programmes were already prepared and are ready for practical organization:

• Mechanized Tunnelling,
• Conventional Tunnelling,
• Sprayed concrete,
• Health and Safety during Construction,
• Risk Management,
• Waterproofing, 
• Users Safety during operation.

The council also decided about the conditions of acceptance of the Donations:

• All Donors will be recognized among the Training community on Tunnelling and Underground Space Use; they will receive a certificate of Donor and they will be registered on the list of Donors.
• The Major Donors (more than 50,000CHF) will seat in the Council of Foundation for 3 years, up to a total of nine members (six at present); they also will receive, once, a free registration for an ITA-endorsed Ms Course as well as five free
  registrations for workshop/training sessions organized by the Foundation