A Remarkable Tradition: Reflecting on the 8th IMFSE Fire Safety Engineering Day

The IMFSE Fire Safety Engineering Day is a cherished tradition where students, alumni, instructors, and sponsors come together to share their valuable experiences. In 2021, the 7^th IMFSE FSE Day adapted to the challenges posed by Covid-19, taking the form of an enriching online technical seminar. The subsequent year witnessed a dual celebration—marking both the IMFSE’s illustrious 10-year milestone and a momentous graduation ceremony in Ghent. Last year, the tradition continued to thrive as the 8^th IMFSE Fire Safety Engineering Day unfolded in the captivating city of Barcelona, Spain. This occasion became even more special as Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) hosted the event as a full-time partner.

The core theme of the day revolved around the ‘Fire Safety Challenges of New Energy Vectors’. The event provided an exciting platform to attend engaging discussions and talks on tackling fire safety concerns in high-risk industries and other situations within the energy transition framework. Additionally, we had the pleasure of meeting around 50 fellow IMFSE students, numerous IMFSE educators from partner institutions (The University of Edinburgh, Lund University, Ghent University, UPC), and representatives from contributing companies like Basler & Hofmann, DBI, ETEX (Promat), Hydrock, Jensen Hughes, Kingspan, NFPA, OFR Consultants, Semper, and Sodeca.

Preparations from our side, for this remarkable day began during our initial semester in Ghent and Edinburgh. We planned ahead and booked flights from Copenhagen. The journey to the event was unexpectedly enjoyable, with much of our cohort on the same flight, giving it the feel of an “IMFSE special flight”. Following the engaging event, we had the chance to explore the vibrant city of Barcelona and savor its cuisine. The transition from the Scandinavian climate to the sunny beach ambiance of Barcelona provided a perfect conclusion to our Easter break.

Before joining the IMFSE program, I relied on the program’s blog to stay informed about its events. Last year, I had the immense pleasure of actively participating in one of these significant gatherings for the first time. The event held tremendous value as it allowed us to gain knowledge, broaden our networks, engage with alumni, and learn from their diverse experiences. That year I had a chance to meet one of the Bangladeshi Alumni of IMFSE, though we didn’t know each other before, this program helped us to get connected. I am eagerly looking forward to the 9^th IMFSE Fire Safety Engineering Day in Lund, Sweden, where we will have the opportunity to meet the incoming cohort and glean insights from our recently graduated peers about their professional journeys.