The world of dams and reservoirs is a demanding industry requiring expertise, experience, and lifelong learning. Its future is heavily dependent on passing on that knowledge, coupled with innovation. With this in mind, the initial concept for the creation of a dedicated group for young engineers was first presented during the ICOLD Congress in Brasília in 2009, where the need for active participation of younger generations in ICOLD was discussed.
Following extensive discussions, a detailed proposal for the creation of a Young Engineers Forum (YEF) was submitted to the ICOLD Board in September 2010. Its approval led to the organisation of the inaugural YEF meeting at the 2011 ICOLD Annual Meeting in Lucerne, marking the formal establishment of the Forum.
With 18 participants at the first meeting, the forum grew quickly over the next few years and gained visibility. It was at the ICOLD Annual Meeting in Kyoto in 2012 when the first YEF Award for the best paper and presentation was presented. Since then, this award has been presented annually, recognising to date the work of 25 young professionals. To be more inclusive, in 2022 the forum changed its designation to Young Professionals Network (YPF).
ICOLD’s Young Professionals Forum aims to inspire and guide the next generations to actively engage and shape the future of ICOLD. To be a young professional in ICOLD, one must be under 40 years old.
National networks
ICOLD YPF is also an umbrella organisation for national young professionals (YP) or young engineers (YE) groups. As of 2024, 33 ICOLD countries have established their national networks, including Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Canada, China, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mozambique, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Uganda, United Kingdom, and the United States of America.
The number of national YP members is steadily growing. Once the YP network is recognised by the corresponding national committee, it is automatically welcomed by the ICOLD-YPF.
Objectives and structure of ICOLD’s Young Professionals Forum
The ICOLD YPF Board consists of seven elected members, including a chair and six vice-chairs. Board members are elected for a three-year term and must be endorsed by the National Committee they represent. Each National Committee can endorse only one candidate. Elections take place annually during an in-person YPF meeting held at the annual ICOLD meeting, where the candidates are presented and all YPs attending the meeting have the right to vote. The call for candidates to serve on the YPF Board is announced online at least two months before the next ICOLD annual meeting. Nominations for board members are received via email. Candidates must be under 40 years old for the entire duration of their term and are expected to attend the ICOLD annual meetings in person during this period. Board members help drive and lead ICOLD YPF strategic initiatives for the benefit of YPs, within the scope and mission of ICOLD.
Engagement and vision
- Fostering a professional network that actively encourages interaction of young professionals with peers and their involvement and presence at ICOLD’s events, meetings, and activities.
- Facilitating knowledge transfer by providing opportunities for younger professionals to acquire technical expertise.
- Promoting collaboration by enabling the exchange of experiences, for example by organising small discussion groups on various topics in the broad field of dams, hydropower, and environment.
- Encouraging and inspiring younger generations to get involved and seek their professional development by actively engaging with their respective National Committee, observing and seeking involvement within technical committees, and supporting ICOLD’s mission both locally and globally.
By achieving these objectives, the YPF seeks to provide a platform for younger generations to actively contribute to the growth of ICOLD and the broader dam engineering sector, while also advancing research, innovation, and sustainability in the field.
Network activities
The network activities include the moderation of a LinkedIn group, with over 1500 members, and the organisation of activities at ICOLD events, such as YP social evenings, small discussion groups, and YP booths. Promoting participation at annual meetings includes paper and poster awards and organising workshops for YPs.
During the annual meeting in 2024 in New Delhi, a workshop focused on advancements in dam engineering with lectures and discussions on modern embankment dams, rock-filled concrete dams, and geomembrane-faced rock-fill dams was organised. During the annual meeting in 2025 in China, the YPF together with the TC on Dams and River Basin Management (TC-U) and Power Construction Corporation of China (POWERCHINA) co-organised the Workshop on Experience of Dam and Water Resources Management in the Context of Energy Transition.
Commonly, mentoring lunches are organised, where YPs can spend a lunch break with a recognised expert from the field. Every annual meeting is an opportunity for a YPF social evening, where the YP can chat, meet peers and start building connections for the future in a nice setting. These activities are organised with great enthusiasm and in close collaboration with the local organising national committee and its YPF representatives where the annual meeting takes place.
ICOLD supports the participation of YPF at annual events by introducing a reduced fee for YPF and supporting YP initiatives.
Webinars and online presence for ICOLD’s young professionals
In 2022, we started organising technical webinars. To date, 14 webinars have been organised in collaboration with ICOLD technical committees, regional clubs, national committees, national YPFs, and third institutions.
The typical format of the webinar includes technical presentations and practical information followed by a Q&A section and discussion, with a total duration of 1.5 to 2 hours. The webinars are free to attend, require registration, and are published on our YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/@icoldypf). In the past year, we have observed an increase in webinars organised by national YP groups, indicating that the global network is active, growing, and engaging.
Visibility and participation
The visibility and participation of young professionals are steadily growing in ICOLD’s global agenda. YPF is involved in the initiatives of the ad hoc committee on Gender, Diversity, and Inclusion, representing a significant step forward in advancing sustainability and capacity building across ICOLD and the wider sector. A YPF representative also attends the meetings of the Dams and Sustainability Initiative, promoting awareness and engagement among early-career engineers, particularly on topics such as biodiversity and sustainable reservoir operation.
ICOLD is one of the 46 founding members of the World Association of Young Scientists (WAYS). The mission of WAYS is to establish a platform for global young scientists to exchange ideas and learn from one another, to build consensus on the positive role of science and technology, and to promote sustainable development through scientific and technological innovations.
The scope of the member organisations of WAYS is diverse; however, they all promote the development of young professionals and provide a strategic platform for cross-sectoral collaboration. A representative from the YPF Board participated in the first General Assembly of WAYS in 2024. This was the first opportunity for the members to meet and to kick start the development of common ideas.
Way forward for ICOLD’s Young Professionals Forum
The way forward for the YPF is to continue bridging the generation gap, working with the industry, and providing opportunities to support the new generation at the early stages of their career. The aims of the ICOLD YPF are to address the challenges of a changing world by building capacity through technical learning and early exposure to international collaboration. This will hopefully empower the next generations to seek innovations and solutions for a sustainable future.
The dedicated ICOLD YPF web page is hosted by ICOLD and can be found at https://www.icold-cigb.org/GB/icold/icold_young_professionals_forum.asp
The authors are Mateja Klun, University of Ljubljana, faculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering, Ljubljana, Slovenia; and Lisa Bensasson, ENM Consulting Engineers, Director Environmental & Water Resources Department, Vice President ICOLD.
