LDC Scotland’s ‘Scottish Lighting Event’ in May, in conjunction with the Society of Light and Lighting, proved a hit with members and the wider lighting community in Scotland. Lisa Sutherland and Lindsey McPhillips report.
Throw your mind back, if you will, to February and the ILP’s Lighting Live event in Daventry, Northamptonshire. Members may recall that occasion saw the announcement of a ground-breaking Memorandum of Understanding between the Institution, the Lighting Industry Association (LIA) and the Highway Electrical Association (HEA) (‘Talking about the next generation’, March 2024, vol 89 no 4).
That momentum towards greater collaboration and more joined-up working across the industry was accelerated in May when LDC Scotland held a ‘Scottish Lighting Event’ that brought together the ILP, and the Society of Light and Lighting (SLL).
The CPD event, the first face-to-face get-together for members in Scotland for a year – and the first post-pandemic exhibition – was held at Edinburgh’s Napier University, with more than 100 guests coming together to hear from an array of top-quality speakers, as well as 26 exhibitors.
Speakers included leading academic Irene Mazzei, sustainability lead at Stoane Lighting, who discussed remanufacture and what it looks like in practice.
Emily Bolt, the ILP’s Vice President – Technical and technical services manager (systems architect) at Signify, spoke about solar lighting, revisiting the talk she gave earlier this year at the launch of the ILP’s Women Lighting Professionals (WLP).
Chair of the WLP Kimberly Bartlett, and associate principal and head of lighting at Introba, introduced this newest member community to members. She also presented a short paper on women’s safety at night.
Then Elizabeth Harrison, lighting designer at Stainton Lighting Design Services, gave an informative talk on a similar theme: designing for safer parks.
POSITIVE FEEDBACK
The feedback from attendees, too, was very positive. ‘It was great to have a lighting exhibition back in Scotland. Let’s hope next year is even bigger and better,’ said one.
‘The Scottish ILP and SLL have done an amazing job getting all the lighting professionals together for one of the best technical sessions/exhibitions in a long time,’ said another member. ‘Every single detail that went into the event was well planned and thought out,’ they added.
It was also really positive for the ILP and SLL to work so closely together, closely helped of course by the team at Edinburgh Napier. It all bodes well for the return of The Scottish Lighting Event in the future.
Lisa Sutherland is marketing manager at Stoane Lighting and a member of the SLL Events Committee. Lindsey McPhillips is senior street lighting engineer at the City of Edinburgh Council and chair of LDC Scotland
- This is an abridged version of the article that appears in the July/August of Lighting Journal. Click on the link to the edition to read the full article.
