Welcome!

Dear Colleagues,

It is my great pleasure, as President of the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering (IABSE), to warmly invite you to participate in the IABSE Congress 2027 to be held in Milan, Italy, from 1–3 September 2027.

This Congress, held under the theme “Shaping the Future of Structural Engineering: Human-Centred Design, Sustainability and Innovation”, comes at a pivotal time for our profession. Structural engineering is undergoing a profound transformation, driven by the need to address climate change, rapid urbanisation, resilience against natural hazards, and the integration of digital technologies throughout the infrastructure lifecycle.

The theme of the Congress reflects a holistic and forward-looking vision for our profession. It emphasises the importance of placing people at the centre of engineering design, ensuring infrastructure that is safe, inclusive, adaptable, and responsive to societal needs. At the same time, sustainability must guide every phase of the life cycle from conceptual design to construction, operation, maintenance, and eventual reuse, minimising environmental impacts while maximising long-term value. The Congress will also highlight the role of innovation, including digitalisation, artificial intelligence, advanced materials, and smart infrastructure systems, in transforming how we design, build, and manage structures. Together, these dimensions define the pathway towards resilient, efficient, and future-ready infrastructure systems.

Milan, a global centre of design, architecture and innovation, provides an inspiring setting for this important gathering. Italy’s rich heritage of engineering excellence, combined with its experience in addressing seismic risks, climate challenges, and preservation of historic infrastructure, offers valuable lessons for the global engineering community.

The Congress will serve as a premier international forum bringing together engineers, researchers, academics, infrastructure owners, and policymakers to exchange knowledge and share best practices. Through keynote lectures, technical sessions, special sessions and networking opportunities, participants will engage in meaningful dialogue on emerging challenges and innovative solutions shaping the built environment.

The technical programme will cover a broad spectrum of topics, including structural safety and reliability, resilience and risk mitigation, sustainability and circular construction, digitalisation, artificial intelligence, structural health monitoring, and the design and management of complex infrastructure systems. These themes reflect IABSE’s mission to advance structural engineering practice while addressing technical, environmental, social, and economic dimensions.

At the heart of this Congress lies a shared vision: to place people at the centre of engineering solutions, to minimise environmental impact, and to harness innovation for the benefit of society. Human-centred design calls upon us to create infrastructure that is not only safe and efficient, but also inclusive, adaptable, and responsive to the evolving needs of communities. The Congress will also feature a Young Engineers Programme and dedicated Networking Sessions, aimed at strengthening international collaboration and fostering meaningful partnerships across the global structural engineering community.

I warmly encourage you to contribute to this Congress by submitting abstracts, proposing special sessions, and actively participating in the discussions. Your expertise and engagement are vital in advancing our profession and addressing the global challenges we face.

I look forward to welcoming you to Milan for what promises to be an enriching and inspiring Congress.

  Dr Harshavardhan Subbarao

  President, IABSE