Newsletter #16 - July 2013

Newsletter #16 - July 2013
 
   President's address

Welcome in the Council to the newly elected ITA president, Soren den ESKESEN from Denmark!

 I am convinced he will give a new start in the relationship between ITA and ITACET Foundation. These relationships have to be excellent in order:
  • To allow the Foundation to receive the best possible technical and pedagogical input for the actions it has to organize. 
  • To help the ITA to fulfil its strategy in term of Training both for Member nations and Industry

The Foundation has to prepare challenging actions in many countries and to contribute to answer to questions raised by Industry. As examples, we are now preparing Sessions for the next months in:

  • Saudi Arabia on Utility Tunnels
  • Singapore on Underground Space design and Planning and on Tunnelling and Energy at the occasion of WTC2014
  • Brazil on Immersed Tunnels
  • Croatia on Underground Space use
  • China on Mechanized Tunnelling and Risk
  • Mexico, Myanmar and Vietnam on Mechanized Tunnelling
I am pleased to know that we will be able to count on the expertise of all ITA Executive Council members.

 

H.E. Ing. Abdullah Al-Mogbel, ITACET Foundation President

 

   Editorial: Søren Degn Eskesen ITA-AITES President

SØREN DEGN ESKESEN -  ITA-AITES PRESIDENT<

 As newly elected ITA President I am pleased to be have been given the opportunity to introduce the ITACET Foundation’s newsletter and to express my views on education and training.

 Where ever I look among our member nations I see a growing need for tunnels and underground structures and thereby an increasing market for the tunnel industry. In order for the industry to be able to respond to the market demand there is
an increasing need for qualified professional engineers with an educational background in tunnel and underground space design and construction.
 
Considering this the ITA Executive Council at its first meeting following immediately after its election in June 2013 in Geneva decided to have Education and Training as a priority item in its strategy for activities in the period 2013 to 2016.
 
The ITA Committee for Education and Training ITACET and the ITACET Foundation will be key players in achieving the goal for increasing Education and Training activities in the strategy period 2013 to 2016.
 
Since its creation the ITACET Foundation has trained 2820 persons at 25 training sessions in our member nations. In addition a high number of engineers have received a Master of Science degree in tunnelling through one of the universities running
master courses endorsed by ITA through ITACET. So the need for the ITACET Foundation and its activities is evident and will continue to growth.
 
ITA wants to continue in this direction in developing ITACET committee activities notably training for industry, blue collars training, and in developing new means such as e-learning and in developing its partnership with the Foundation.
 
Training actions are very important for ITA member nations specifically in emergent and developing countries. Good relationship with member nations but also with ITA Working Groups and committees is one of the key points.
 
Knowledge sharing, education and training was set up as one of the priority of ITA in the strategy approved by the General Assembly in 2005 and pursued since then. As stated above it remains today one of the priority subjects and the Executive
Council will bring all its support to the ITA Committee on training and education as well as to the ITACET Foundation. New areas need to be developed and the Executive Council is committed to bring it further. Also the Executive Council is
studying the possibility for establishment of a Young Member group inside ITA where young members from the member nations can meet and discuss items particularly of concerns for young engineers. This initiative is going in the same direction.
 
 I look forward to work closely with the ITACET Foundation in my presidential period and I hope that together we can ensure a growth in education and training activities to the benefit of our association and for our industry.

 

   Tunnelling in Limestone

SEMINAR IN RIYADH (SAUDI ARABIA) 23 - 24  June 2013
TUNNELLING IN LIMESTONE

The Foundation together with the Riyadh Municipality organized in Riyadh a seminar on "Tunnelling in Limestone".

Introduction and closing remarks were given by the host of this event, H.E Eng. Abdullah Al-Mogbel, Mayor of Riyadh and President of the ITACET Foundation.

ITACET Foundation WTC2013 Geneva PosterThis
specific training course presented both the basic concepts and principles of tunnel design and construction in limestone strata and karstic ground, and the state-of-the-art technologies available today for managing the risks associated with
tunnelling in such conditions.

The ITACET Foundation delegated three lecturers, namely Mssers Felix Amberg (Amberg group engineering Ltd - Switzerland) , Piergiorgio Grasso (GEODATA Spa - Italy) and Harald Wagner (Consulting Engineer - Austria) who delivered ten lecturers on
specifics aspects of General, Conventional and Mechanized Tunnelling in Limestone environment and Karst area.

The seminar also welcomed the interventions of manufacturers, Mr. Martin Herrenknecht (Herrenknecht AG- Germany ) and Mr. Dieter Jordan (The Robbins Company - USA) and delegate from EFNARC Mr. Nick CHITTENDEN who gave information about nozzleman
certification.

The audience reached 80 participants, attendees of the training session were mostly delegate from Saudi municipalities, but also counted several contractors and consultants from Middle East area.

Lively discussion on subjects brought by the participants signaled a strong interest of the audience for the topics presented.

The promotional leaflet of the event, including the detailed program and foreword from H.E Abdullah Al-Mogbel is  style="color: rgb(0, 152, 99); text-decoration: none;">available to download >>

The poster of the event is available to download >>

 

   WTC Training Session in Geneva

WTC TRAINING SESSION IN GENEVA 31.05 - 01.06.2013
GROUND IMPROVEMENT PRE SUPPORT & REINFORCEMENT

The foundation together with STS Swiss Tunnelling Society organized the WTC training session for young engineers on"Ground Improvement, Pre-Support and Reinforcement"

The objective of the course was to present
the state of the art of design and construction of auxiliary measures such as grouting, artificial ground freezing or forepoling.

The course highlighted the theoretical and practical aspects of the wide catalogue of auxiliary measures.

Beside the theoretical aspects of the adequate design also the basic principles of the execution (installation, handling and materials) and several interesting case studies from all over the world were presented.

During these two days, 19 lecturers gave a total of 16 lectures. A short presentation of all contributors is available >>

Read the full Press release >>

The promotional leaflet of the event is available to download, it includes the program and a short presentation of the lecturers >>

 

   Principles in Tunnelling Design

TRAINING SESSION IN MEXICO 02 - 04 May 2013
Principles in Tunnelling Design

 The foundation together with AMITOS (La Asociación Mexicana de Ingeniería de Túneles y Obras Subterráneas, A. C organized a training session on"Principles in Tunnelling Design".

The course was very well organized by AMITOS, and gathered a large audience of 250 participants.

The foundation delegated five lecturers, namely Messrs. Felix Amberg, Lars Babendererde, Tarcisio Celestino, Piergiorgio Grasso and Harald Wagner. During the two days of the training session they gave a total of 16 lectures.

The third day of the session was dedicated to an on site visite of the Mexico Eastern Drainage Tunnel (Túnel Emisor Oriente)

The numerous attendees were very interested by the lectures and the visite; AMITOS and the Foundation are already looking forward organizing the next edition.

The program of the event including a short presentation of the lecturers is available to download (Pdf) >>

 

   IMMERSED TUNNELS

SEMINAR in Opatija (Croatia) 14 June 2013
Immersed Tunnels

ITA contributed to the preparation of the session on Immersed Tunnels organized in Opatija (Croatia) which was organized by ITA Croatia on Friday 14 June at the occasion of the annual meeting of Croatian Engineering Society.

More than 50 participants attended this first session about Immersed Tunnels which will constitute a new way for Tunnelling in the Country.

ITA-CET Committee and ITACET Foundation provided three very experienced lecturers, including Jonathan
BABER, the new animateur of the ITA Working Group on Immersed Tunnels.

The Seminar also gave the opportunity to a Croatian lecture, M. Jelic to present the “Peljesac Crossing” (Adriatic Tunnel – Bridge) in the regions
of Zadar and Rijeca on a distance of around 60 km. 

The detailed programme was as follows:

  • Introduction by Davorin KOLIC, ITA Croatia President
  • Strategy of ITA in term of Training by Claude BERENGUIER (slideshow encl.)
  • Overview and types of Immersed Tunnels - Jonathan BABER (UK)
  • Planning and Design of the Tunnel Structure and Foundation – Hans de WITT (NL)
  • Project case study: Fehmarnbelt fixed link – Klaus IVERSEN (DK)
  • Peljesac Crossing – M. JELIC (Croatia)
  • Construction sequence joints and control of cracking – Jonathan BABER
  • Marine Construction methods and Tunnel finishing – Hans de WITT
  • Project case study: Marmaray project – Klaus IVERSEN

 

   MAS in Tunnelling

Announcing: II Level Specializing Master in Tunnelling and tunnel boring machines of the Politecnico di Torino

The need of experts involved in D&B and TBM tunnelling as well as tunnel work site management is rapidly increasing throughout the world.

In this course, that has now reached its 9th edition, University lectures are merged with lectures/presentations by experts from construction companies, machine producers, design companies and professional to provide the multidisciplinary knowledge
that is necessary to work in this sector.

The students who attended the Post-graduate Master Course are of interest for design firms, construction companies involved in tunnelling and for tunnelling tools suppliers as well as producers of Tunnel Boring Machines and public administrations.
To know more download the leaflet >> or visit the web site >>

 

   NEXT EVENTS

- Zagreb, 04 October 2013 on Urban Underground Space use

- Sáo Paulo, 08-09 November 2013 on Immersed Tunnel

- Riyad, December 2013 on Utility Tunnels

- WTC 2014 in Brasil, 09-10 May 2014 on Underground space and energy

More information about these events will be published on www.itacet.org