A warm welcome to new IABSE President, Dr. Harshavardhan Subbarao
At its 90th Meeting of the IABSE Permanent Committee on September 24, 2024, Dr. Harshavardhan Subbarao was elected as the President of the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering (IABSE) for the 2025–2028 term.
Dr. Subbarao is the first Indian to hold this prestigious position, succeeding Dr. Tina Vejrum of Denmark and his tenure began on 1 November 2025. Click here...
A look back in 2025
It is that time of the year, when we start wrapping up and preparing for the year's closing. Looking back, 2025 was another remarkable year for IABSE. IABSE Symposium Tokyo 2025, from 18 to 21 May 2025, on the topic of “Environmentally Friendly Technologies and Structures: Focusing on Sustainable Approaches,” welcomed nearly 600 participants from 45 countries. IABSE Congress Ghent 2025, from 27 to 29 August 2025, on the topic "The Essence of Structural Engineering for the Society", attracted 498 abstracts from 50 countries. Both events were very successful, and the Conference Proceedings are available in the Online Shop.
The IABSE Awards on 14 November 2025, recognising outstanding individuals and projects from around the world, took place successfully at the stunning Lake Side in Zurich, which brought together engineering masterminds for an evening full of celebrations. 2026 submission of nominations has now started.
In addition, we had two Young Engineers Colloquia (YEC), one preceding the Tokyo Symposium, and one in Germany, in collaboration with National Groups. The Young Engineers Committee (YEC) had an active year and is planning for 2026 events.
The first IABSE Special Publication was published by Commission 4 on 'Bridge Construction Methods - Essentials and Critical Lessons'. Four issues of Structural Engineering International (SEI) were published on recent structures and research from Japan and worldwide, and on AI in structural engineering. There were 13 webinars, organised with different National Groups and Task Groups by the eLearning Board. IABSE National Groups organised several site visits, collaborative seminars, prizes, and had a very active year in 2025.
Starting from 1 November 2025, IABSE Commissions and Boards under the Technical Committee have several new chairs and members; the Executive Committee also welcomed four new members. This year, from 1 November, IABSE also welcomed Harshavardhan Subbarao as the newPresident; and Niels Peter Hoej as the new Chair of the Technical Committee. We wish all a good start and fruitful years ahead.
We extend our heartfelt thanks to all members, participants, and sponsors for their active engagement and patronage for the Association in 2025, and look forward to your continued support in 2026.
A Special Christmas Gift for you from IABSE
This holiday season, we’re giving you a 30 CHF discount on your IABSE membership fee, whether you’re applying for the first time or renewing your membership.
Your Gift: 30 CHF off
Discount Code: GIFT30CHF
IABSE Symposium Copenhagen 2026
Coming Next!
IABSE Symposium on Bridging Advanced Technologies - Structural Innovation
21-24 April 2026
Registration has started from 1 December 2025: Click Here!
The theme of the Symposium, “Bridging Advanced Technologies – Structural Innovation,” serves as a call for all engineers, young & curious as well as ambitious & experienced to come together. We encourage all of you to share papers on R&D projects, your lessons learned and real case studies. And as we often learn most from the difficult times, where things did not go as planned, we ask you to be brave and also share the hard learned lessons. The Symposium will provide a unique opportunity to share knowledge, learn from the experience of others and together set a new agenda for the future.
Main topics include:
Circular Construction; Structural Modelling & Structural Concepts; Codes and Standards; Material Technology; Data Driven Technologies; and Automation and Robot Technologies.
Social Programmes
Welcome reception
Copenhagen City Hall
21 April 2026 17:30 hrs
Accompanying Persons Walking Tour
22 April 2026 9.45-12.00 hrs
Gala Dinner
National Museum
23 April 2026 19:00 hrs
Address: Ny Vestergade 10, 1471 Copenhagen
Nearest Metro station: M3 Rådhuspladsen or Gammel Strand
Technical Tours
The Organising Committee has prepared a selection of technical tours on Friday the 24th of April. Participation to these tours requires registration together with your conference registration, so please make sure to sign up when completing your online registration form.
Start planning for the technical and social tours today and make the most of your visit to Copenhagen! Click here to learn more...
16-18 September 2026, Incheon,Republic of Korea - Mark your Calendar!
The ever-increasing urbanisation, climate change, rapid depletion of resources, and their impact on the built environment require Structural Engineers to respond with new tools that are constantly evolving to help plan for and mitigate the challenges arising from this continuously evolving situation. The various digital tools and technologies at the disposal of structural engineers, along with Artificial Intelligence, are already demonstrating great promise in addressing the above challenges and issues. The profession needs to continuously evolve in keeping with modern developments and tools. The Congress will be an excellent opportunity to expand your network, exchange ideas, and gain insights into the latest trends in technology, which will be enriched by Keynote Speakers with renowned global experts.
Sponsorship and Exhibiting Opportunities
Sponsorship and exhibiting opportunities will be available soon on the Congress website shortly or you may contact marketing@iabse.org for booking.
About Songdo (Incheon) City
Songdo (Incheon) stands as a model of next-generation urban planning and a rising hub for international business and innovation. Built from the ground up on reclaimed land along Incheon's waterfront, Songdo is a smart city designed with sustainability, technology, and global connectivity at its core.
Why You Should Attend?
The goal of this Congress is to attract world-class practitioners and academics for meaningful discussions on the evolution and hyper-expansion of bridge and structural engineering, in relation to advanced and emerging methods of design and analysis.
The Technical Committee (TC) promotes, co-ordinates and assesses the activities of all technical groups within IABSE. Below you shall find a list of recent TC activities.
The eLearning Board met in November and in December, under the (new) chairmanship of Maria Pina Limongelli, to discuss current and upcoming projects. For 2026 webinar proposals National Groups and Task Groups are encouraged to send their proposals to technical@iabse.org.
The first SEI EditB.meeting chaired by Eva Lantsoght, Ecuador, and vice-chaired by Laurent Rus, Spain, took place on 2 December 2025, which was attended by members from the Czech Republic, China, France, Greece, India, Japan and the USA.
The meeting focused on discussing current SEI issues, welcoming the new members, discussing future topics, and responsibilities within the Board.
Online Access to SEI: As a member you can read all papers published in SEI ever since 1991, once you log into your Members Area and click on SEI online. This video explains the steps...
The Young Engineers Committee (YEC) members met online on 8 December 2025 to discuss current and future projects. The YEC is preparing for the next Mentoring event and is liaising with Organising Committees for the next IABSE Conferences. Read more about YEC 2025 activities here ...
IABSE Webinar Recording: Pushing Boundaries:
A Probable World First - Launching a 103 m Network Arch Bridge Using a Ropeway Cable Crane by Indian NG and eLearning Board, 21 November 2025.
Carbon Footprint Assessment in Bridge and Infrastructure Construction
IABSE Task Group 6.6. is running a survey on this topic. The purpose of this survey is to gather comprehensive insights into how carbon-related considerations are currently integrated into engineering workflows worldwide.
You can find the survey link above and the QR-Code here. Find more details here..
IABSE National Groups Activities
The National Groups are, within their field of influence, responsible for providing active support to the Association's objectives. They support IABSE in particular through the nomination of qualified members for election to the different committees of the Association.
National Groups Activities Report in SEI: Click Here
Argentina, Switzerland, Chile, Uruguay and USA
On 28 November 2025, a Bridges Seminar was organised in Argentina, jointly by the IABSE National Groups of Argentina, Chile, Switzerland, Uruguay and the USA. The attendance, both face-to-face and virtual, was a success, with 90 professionals participating online and onsite. Speakers were Kristian Schellenberg (Chair, Swiss NG), Jose Luis Seguel Ramirez, Maria Grazia Bruschi (Chair, US NG), Martín Ihlenfeld, Guzmán Castiglioni Brovetto, and Martín Eduardo Polimeni (Chair, Argentinian NG), and IABSE’s President Harshavardhan Subbarao.
On 26-28 November 2025, the Spanish Group of IABSE collaborated with the University of Leon, the University of Granada, the University of Seville, and the University of Malaga in the organization of CMMoST 2025. They have also been collaborating with other National Groups for knowledge dissemination.
On 22 November 2025, the IABSE Russian Group successfully marked its relaunch with its first hybrid seminar on the topic of 'Life Cycle Reliability of Bridges - First Welcome Russian National Group Seminar'. The main goal of the event was to foster a genuine and open-minded engineering discussion dedicated to bridges—and it successfully achieved just that. Read more here ...
USA
On 18 November 2025 the USA NG held the webinar “IABSE Technical Activities: What do the Task Groups Do?” featuring multiple IABSE members who are active in the Technical Committee and the Task Groups. Technical Committee Chair Niels Peter Høj (Switzerland), who started his term from 1 Nov. 2025, introduced the webinar with an overview of the technical activities. Read more here ...
Slovenia
On 13-14 November 2025, the 46th Conference of Slovenian Structural Engineers, co-organised by IABSE Slovenia was held in Portorož, Slovenia. The event was attended by 275 participants.
On 7 November 2025, the Germany and Italian National Groups welcomed participants to the 8th IABSE Young Engineers Colloquium (YEC) at the Munich University of Applied Sciences. The event attracted 73 participants from 8 countries.
On 4 November 2025, the Indian National Group of IABSE celebrated its Annual Day 2025 in New Delhi. The chair of ING, VK Rajawat, inaugurated the session virtually.
We are excited to announce that the European Safety and Reliability Conference (ESREL 2026) will be held from 14–19 June 2026 in the beautiful city of Braga, Portugal. Organized by ISISE - University of Minho, in association with ESRA - European Safety and Reliability Association. Read further here ...
IABSE Media Information for Advertising in SEI and other options is now published. Please contact Cheryl Cornelio, for your queries related to Events and Marketing at cheryl.cornelio@iabse.org
