Opening keynote: Tunnel innovation in an age of Covid-19 – what has changes in 2020?

• Exploring how Covid-19 has forced sites and businesses to innovate and seek solutions to improve productivity
• Pinpointing how technology is helping engineers to deliver tunnelling projects safely and to new tighter standards
• Discussing if the industry is experiencing a permanent shift in practices and how it uses technology to design and monitor tunnelling projects 

Panel: Renewing and investing in existing tunnel assets to extent their life, improve reliability and reduce carbon

• What do your investment priorities for tunnels up to 2022 look like?
• How is technology changing how we manage and maintain existing tunnels?
• To what extend will industry need to sweat assets or find leaner solutions for the construction?
• What are you doing to reduce carbon in assets and improve sustainable design?

Pam Rigby, principal geotechnical engineer, United Utilities

Petr Salak, managing director Israel, Dr. Sauer & Partners

Paris Gran Paris Metro – exploring upcoming contracts to be awards and designs for sections including Line 18 and the new stations for the Olympics.
Senior representative, Vinci

Copenhagen Cityringen Metro – sharing the challenges from the main drive and how the project teams supported innovation to mitigate risks
George Kafantaris, Technical & Design Director, CMT – WEBUILD Group

BGS Hyperloop report – surveying the developments in technology and the future challenge to make Hyperloop economically viable
Simon Morgan, managing director, London Bridge Associates 

Silvertown Tunnel – assessing the design and programme of the tunnelling works and the milestones ahead

Andrew Lunt, lead sponsor, TfL 

Highways England – Futuregazing at the tunnel programme, designs and procurement plans for the Lower Thames crossing
Keith Bowers, tunnels & systems director, Lower Thames Crossing

Tideway – comparing the tunnelling progress, challenges and solutions being employed across the Western, Central and Eastern sections
Eddie Edmonds, senior project manager, CVB JV

Fireside chat: How can the tunnelling industry improve diversity, challenge perceptions and improve it’s image?

• What is the scale of the diversity challenge facing the sector and how does it compare with the wider engineering community?
• How are businesses and the industry currently addressing the under representation of women and the BAME community in the workforce and what more is needed?

Alison Norrish, director, Arup