Adrian Arnold wins 2025 Institution of Civil Engineers Gold Medal for engineering excellence

We are excited to announce that Adrian Arnold, Shipyards Sector Director at Royal HaskoningDHV, has been awarded the prestigious 2025 Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) Gold Medal for engineering excellence. This award recognises Adrian's exceptional contributions to civil engineering and his unwavering dedication to the profession.

2025 ICE Gold Medal

The ICE Gold Medal is an annual award that celebrates outstanding achievements in civil engineering and infrastructure. It honours individuals who have significantly advanced the field and the Institution of Civil Engineers. This year, Adrian was nominated by Jamie Ellis of Royal HaskoningDHV and selected by the ICE Awards Committee for his remarkable commitment to the profession and his charitable work. The judges highlighted Adrian's enthusiasm for civil engineering, his strong relationships with clients, and his mentorship of many developing engineers. His contributions to the maritime shipyard industry have been especially noted as significant.

Passion for engineering

Adrian's dedication to the profession includes a wide range of activities. He consistently demonstrates a passion for civil engineering through innovative projects and a commitment to mentoring young engineers. He believes that through personal influence and projects that he has helped countries around the world to develop their economies, improving lives.

We caught up with Adrian to talk about his win and how he sees the future of the industry.

What does winning the ICE Gold Medal mean to you personally and professionally?

It is an extraordinary honour which I believe reflects the excellent engineers I have been fortunate to work with during my career and also how much Royal HaskoningDHV values and fosters technical excellence.

Can you share some of the projects or initiatives that you believe contributed to your recognition by the ICE Awards Committee?

Developing the British Standard 6349 part 3 might appear to be an unexciting task but it enabled me to capture many years of practical experience in shipyards design for the benefit of others. There are really too many projects large and small to mention but one amazing project stands out due its size, complexity and number of colleagues that have worked on it - the King Salman Maritime Complex shipyard at Ras Al Khair.

What advice would you give to young engineers who are just starting their careers?

To work with the best engineers you can, who think about engineering from first principles and concepts to develop their own irreplaceable “engineering brain”. Don’t rush to the digital world until you have thought about the problem.

How do you envision the future of civil engineering, and what role do you see yourself playing in it?

We have incredible evolving digital capabilities, the use of which I would like help to optimise to enhance the engineering design process but not allowing it to simply dictate the results.