Prague, a city steeped in history and beautiful architecture, became a bustling centre of innovation and knowledge from 11 to 13 October 2023 as the 7th World Engineers Convention (WEC 2023) took place here. This event, a gathering of great minds and pioneers from various engineering disciplines, offered a unique platform for collaboration, learning and inspiration. It is the most important event of the World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO), which is held every four years on different continents. The local organizing and scientific committee was represented by representatives of the Czech Union of Scientific and Technical Societies (CSVTS), which was also a co-organizer of the Congress. The venue of the professional congress was the Prague Congress Centre.

The congress included a working meeting of WFEO members, which took place before and after the congress at the headquarters of the CSVTS at Novotná Lávka 5 in Prague 1. The overall event was thus both organizationally and physically demanding, as our team moved between the two venues throughout the 7 days, spending more than 12 hours each day at the event.

Inspiring speakers made for an excellent scientific program

The scientific programme of the congress was divided into 14 sessions. The morning and afternoon sessions of the congress started with plenary lectures by renowned national and international personalities who delivered powerful speeches and inspired the audience with their visions for the future. These speakers shared their experiences, challenges and triumphs and encouraged young engineers to dream big and strive for innovative solutions to global problems. We can mention, for example, Jack Dangermond, President of Esri, who is recognized as one of the most influential people in the field of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology. We can also mention, for example, Serkan Saydam, Professor of Mining Engineering, who gave an interesting talk on sustainable mining of space resources. Women were also among the Congress plenary speakers, among whom we would highlight Dr. Marlene Kang, former WFEO President, who among other things spoke at the Congress in the Women’s Engineering Session.
The rest of the technical program was complemented by presentations from speakers who submitted abstracts or special sessions from partners.

The programme also included organised professional excursions to the Temelín nuclear power plant or the Štěchovice hydroelectric power plant.

Interactive exhibition also for the public

Thanks to the WEC Expo interactive exhibition, participants were not passive observers but active participants, immersing themselves in the realms of virtual reality, experimenting with physical phenomena, interacting with robots, flying high on a flight simulator and exploring much more. The exhibition was also open to the general public, which was especially used by high school final year students.
Partners of the congress were major Czech technical universities and also companies such as CEZ, which was a platinum sponsor of the event, CZECH Invest or METRANS.

Social evening with Czech cuisine

On the penultimate day, participants could enjoy typical Czech hospitality at the President’s Dinner in Prague’s Folklore Garden. There was a toast, a four-course menu of Czech dishes and dulcimer music with dancing.

More than 1,000 participants

The 7th World Congress of Engineers in Prague was a huge success and left a lasting impact on the engineering community. As more than 1,000 participants from 78 countries returned to their homes, they carried with them not only newfound knowledge and inspiration, but also a shared commitment to making a meaningful contribution to the world through engineering excellence and, most importantly, new contacts and friendships.

We would like to thank our clients from both CSVTS and WFEO for their trust, the speakers for their excellent and inspiring presentations, the participants for their positive feedback, our partners and exhibitors for their support, and especially our project team of more than twelve members led by Lucie Přichystalová for their tremendous commitment, good spirits and the successful organization of this challenging congress.