We’re now just days away from the ILP Lighting Live Annual Conference in Birmingham. With the very future of lighting and smart cities on the agenda, it will be two days of high-end CPD not to miss.
Birmingham, here we come! This year’s ILP Lighting Live Annual Conference in Britain’s second city is now just days away.
So, if you haven’t already, get it in your diary, get registered, and get along to the Birmingham Millennium Point from 17-18 June.
This year’s conference will have a focus on innovation, smart infrastructure and the practical integration of emerging technologies within the built environment.
To that end, one of the highlights of the Wednesday (17 June) will be a panel discussion on ‘Shaping the future of smart cities – interoperability, standards, and adaptive technologies’.
As urbanisation accelerates, smart cities as a concept (and reality) are evolving from a futuristic vision to a practical, even an expected, necessity.
The panel will bring together David Orchard and Michael Wilkinson from Signify, Past President and Southwark Council infrastructure and energy lead Perry Hazell, Martin Neilsen from Felicity Smart Infrastructure, Jonathan Catchpole – Vice Chair of Book 18 and chair of the Technical Coordination Working Group for Zhaga, and systems architect at TE Connectivity – alongside José Sanchis Pérez de León and/or Simon Dunkley from TALQ.
Together, they will explore the critical role of interoperability, open standards, and adaptive technologies in shaping our cities of tomorrow. The discussion – which will start from 2pm in the auditorium at the Millennium Point – will unpick how advances in technology are enabling interoperability across diverse lighting and IoT ecosystems, how standards are breaking down silos, how deployment is accelerating, and how all this can help to reduce costs for local authorities.
A key focus within this will be on traffic-adaptive lighting, including how real-time data (and, within that, AI) from sensors and IoT networks can adjust street lighting dynamically based on traffic flow and pedestrian activity. It will be a discussion not to be missed.
A further addition to the agenda in Birmingham is a ‘Pathways into Lighting: STEM Session’ workshop that will take place from 10am on the Thursday (18 June). This will update on the ILP’s work on Pathways into Lighting as well as bring the next generation of lighting professionals – students from local university technical colleges (UTCs) – into the room to enable delegates to hear, and learn from, their thoughts and experiences.
The workshop will include an interactive ‘lighting quest’, as well as much debate and discussion on the future talent streams and pathways into the profession.
TWELVE TECHNICAL PAPERS
More broadly, over the two days, members will be able to engage with 12 technical papers and a ‘How To Be Brilliant’ talk led by Natalia Duffy, lighting associate at Cundall.
This will take place from 6pm the night before the conference (so the Tuesday evening) in the Millennium Point’s Station Room.
There will be workshops, updates from the regions, WLP and YLP, and of course the hugely valuable opportunity to network with peers and colleagues within the exhibition space and more widely.
The conference proper will start with the presidential transition from James Duffin to Michala Medcalf, with Michala then delivering her traditional Presidential Address.
This will be followed by updates from the new regional Chairs and a short presentation by conference partner Street Lighting Supplies & Co Ltd.
Technical papers over the two days will provide delegates with practical case studies, technical insight and real-world learning, covering everything from how lighting is helping the United Nations meet its 17 ‘Sustainable Development Goals’ – led by WSP’s Allan Howard – through to outdoor lighting for an ageing population.
Manchester City Council’s Steve Anderson will outline how his local authority has been approaching PFI expiry. Connor MacDonald and Richard Jackson of DFL will examine the creative potential of AI, from generative design to new forms of artistic expression in light.
WSP’s Katerina Xynogala will discuss maintenance factor values within road-tunnels’ lighting, Signify’s Michael Wilkinson will talk members through Liverpool’s experience of traffic-adaptive lighting, Clare Thomas of Urbis Schréder will provide an update on Bristol’s ‘One City’ project.
UCL emeritus professor, and the ILP’s Vice President – Membership, Qualification and Registrations, Peter Raynham will then talk members through latest research on ambient lighting conditions and crime in London.
ILP Technical Manager Guy Harding and Vice President – Technical Emily Bolt will provide an update on what members can expect in the coming months in terms of technical guidelines and new publications.
There will also be an important update on Part D of the Well-Managed Highway Infrastructure Code of Practice from the Welsh Government’s David Denner, along with presentations from Signify’s David Orchard (on CMS), and Mark Sutton Vane of Sutton Vane Associates (on the principles of light).
Anthony Smith of Stainton Lighting Design Services and Steve Cooper of Zumtobel will consider the question, ‘can PFI learn from DBFO (design build-finance-operate)?’.
Among the interactive workshops running alongside the main talks programme, a membership ‘bootcamp’ led by Membership Services Manager Karen Suggett will discuss the value of upgrading ILP membership.
And the Lighting Journal team will outline how members can raise their profile and their expertise across the industry by being seen – and read – within this publication. This will be held from 12.30-1pm on the Wednesday, so do come along!
OUR SPONSORS
Street Lighting Supplies & Co Ltd as touched on earlier, is the conference’s event partner, while Charles Endirect, DFL, Signify, Lucy Zodion, Urbis Schréder and TRT Lighting are all headline sponsors.
McCann is also this year’s content sponsor. All the sponsors will deliver informative sponsor ‘pitches’ during the two days.
To that end, Barry Morrison, commercial director of Street Lighting Supplies, said: ‘We are delighted to continue partnering with the ILP as the Lighting Live Annual Conference event partner for this year’s event. Lighting Live is all about reconnecting and engaging with colleagues old and new alike. We look forward to seeing you in Birmingham!’
Delegates will have the opportunity to meet exhibitors and sponsors throughout the two days, explore the latest technologies and solutions, and continue discussions beyond the conference sessions.
As in previous years there are a mix of tickets available, with a full event ticket (including gala dinner) costing £400 for ILP members, day tickets £150 and online-only tickets coming in at £37.
For non-members, the prices are £630, £265, and £68 respectively. Tickets for local authority members are priced £236 for the full event, £68 for daily tickets, and £37 for online only access.
GALA DINNER
As well as the main two days of CPD there will be, as usual, a gala black-tie dinner on the first night (17 June).
This will this year be held at the iconic Library of Birmingham, a short walk from the Millennium Point. Standalone tickets for this are priced at £100.
During the dinner, members will also celebrate the Young Student/Engineer Award – which this year is being sponsored by DW Windsor – and the award of the Lighting Journal Article of the Year.
In sum, it is going to be an inspiring, informative and thought-provoking two days in the West Midlands. So please do come and join your peers, colleagues and Institution to put the lighting world to rights.
You can find out all you need to know about this year’s Lighting Live Annual Conference online at https://bit.ly/4e6zYaX
This is an abridged version of the article that appears in the June edition of Lighting Journal. To read the full article, simply click on the page-turner to your right.
Image: the Millennium Point in Birmingham
