Inaugural Interchange event proves modern, dynamic and different

The inaugural Interchange held at the Vox in Birmingham on 18/19 April was heralded a great success. Attended by nearly 1000 delegates across the two days, more than 80% rated the event excellent or very good.

Interchange set out to be new and groundbreaking – and was designed to foster collaboration and knowledge sharing among a traditionally diverse group of infrastructure professionals who are committed to creating integrated and intelligent transport systems that benefit society, the economy, and the environment.

Rachel Skinner, Exec Director for Responsible Business and Government Relations and an ICE Past President posted on LinkedIn that she had had a “brilliant couple of days at the Interchange 2023 conference”. Another said the event “felt modern, dynamic and different.” Other delegate feedback included “congratulations on spectacular organisation, topics and speaker selection”, while one commentated “the event was excellent and you should really feel proud of what you created.”

Speaking at the event, Skinner made the point that there is no route to net zero without decarbonising transport and in an impassioned plea told delegates that while we know what needs to change, we are not going fast enough. She also said the evolution of "old school" transport skills is crucial as we need a much wider diversity of people and skills to solve the challenges ahead. But “if we're clever, we'll use this climate- and equity-led skills shift to make the transport sector much more visible and relevant, helping to attract and retain talented people into the 2040s and beyond.”

Interchange was also praised for bringing together the traditionally separated transport disciplines of road, rail, aviation and maritime with the construction, planning, real estate, telecoms and energy communities.

In addition to four theatres running on both days, the event also offered vibrant networking and an exhibition with over fifty exhibitors with key infrastructure clients including National Highways, Network Rail, HS2, EWR, Transport for London, Manchester Airports Group and the UK Major Ports Group.

Interchange 2024 will take place in Spring 2024. Contact Andrew Dowding for further information on opportunities to get involved.