Argentina Engineer’s Day - June 16th

Every June 16 is celebrated as the Engineer's Day in Argentina. It is in commemoration of the beginning of engineering education in the country. In 1855 Carlos Enrique Pellegrini -president between 1890 and 1892- proposed to the rector of the University of Buenos Aires to create and engineering degree. Ten years later, and through a decree that was signed on June 16, began to teach this discipline, within the Department of Exact Sciences of the University of Buenos Aires. The curriculum included 18 subjects that focused on the teaching of mathematics, technical drawing, mineralogy, geology and construction.

Who was the first person to graduate as engineer in Argentina?

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ECF manifesto - Construction 2050 - Building tomorrow’s Europe today

Construction stakeholders believe that the Construction 2020 initiative should be reinforced in order to fully achieve its ambitions, aimed at supporting the construction sector’s adaptation to key emerging challenges and to promote the sustainable competitiveness of the sector. To this end, major European construction representatives have united, to stress their commitment to the extension of the existing programme in the form of the “Construction 2050: Building tomorrow’s Europe today” initiative. This comprehensive framework should be fully embraced by all actors in the construction ecosystem, Member States and European institutions. Building on the results of the current Construction 2020 initiative, this new framework should be based on the following principles:

  • A specific targeted approach to construction because the sector is at the crossroads of different value chains and its unique nature requires a unique approach
  • An adaptable policy framework to address the evolving construction ecosystem and the transformation of the industry
  • A holistic approach towards policy making in order to implement coherent and balanced policies and legislation
  • A strong partnership between the European institutions, the Member States and construction social partners and stakeholders to steer the transformation of the sector with the most adequate policies and tools.

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President Mineiro closes Ljubljiana's World Construction Forum

Last week engineers from all over the world gathered in Ljubljana for the World Construction Forum 2019, which was organized by the Slovenian Chamber of Engineers and Faculty of Civil and geodetic Engineering of University of Ljubljana in partnership with World Federation of Engineering Organisations (WFEO) and the World Council of Civil Engineers (WCCE) under patronage of UNESCO and his excellency, Mr Borut Pahor, the president of the Republic of Slovenia.

President Mineiro as co-organizer of the event participated in the closing ceremony where he addressed the need to focus on a resource efficient construction process, enabling circular economy through project's lifecycle analysis with focusing in the infrastructure's decommission.  

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Carlos Mineiro Aires, New WCCE President


Eng. Carlos Mineiro Aires has been appointed President on September 21st, 2018. He took over the presidency of the World Council of Civil Engineers (WCCE) during its 13th General Assembly to be held in 2018. Mr. Mineiro, a worldwide recognized engineering professional from Portugal will serve a three year term for the period 2019-2021. Carlos Mineiro suceeds Alfonso Gonzalez, Mexican Engineer.

He is current President of the Portuguese Ordem dos Engenheiros, the Portuguese engineering chamber. His areas of expertise are water resource management and international ccoperation issues. Civil Engineer (1985). Born in Lisbon (Portugal), age 53 years, holds a brilliant academic record, culminating in his MSc Civil Engineering, in Instituto Superior Técnico de Lisboa.

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