Civil Engineering January/February 2021 | Vol 29 No 1

Civil Engineering January/February 2021 43 Danielle Petterson Editor: Civil Engineering SAICE danielle@saice.org.za SAICE’s newest team member, Danielle Petterson, is taking over the role of editor of SAICE’s magazine from Verelene de Koker who will now focus fulltime on SAICE’s journal. Danielle has spent her career in trade and technical pub- lishing, much of which was focused on the built environment. Having previously held the position of editor of Water&Sanitation Africa and ReSource magazines, she has also worked on publica- tions including IMIESA and Wood Southern Africa & Timber Times . During the course of her career, Danielle has developed a strong passion for infrastructure and engineering, with a par- ticular love for the water sector. Trade publications have an important role to play in knowl- edge sharing and keeping their industries abreast of the latest news and development, and Civil Engineering is unique in that it is truly a publication by the members for the members. Danielle hopes to build on the magazine’s strong foundations and continue to work with SAICE’s members to promote the excellent engi- neering work being done both locally and abroad. Speaking on her new role, Danielle states, “More than ever, South Africa’s civil engineers have an important role to play, not only in our economic recovery, but in ensuring that we roll out and maintain much-needed infrastructure, particularly for our most vulnerable communities. I am honoured to work with SAICE and the nation’s engineers to promote knowledge sharing, learning and communication in this vital sector.” Nthabeleng Lentsoane Head of Marketing and PR SAICE nthabeleng@saice.org.za Nthabeleng Lentsoane is a welcome addition to the SAICE team in the sphere of marketing and communications and as champion of the “Getting to know your SAICE” portfolio of the Growing Forward Together strategy. With 10 years’ strategic marketing and integrated communication experience in various industries, Nthabeleng has a seasoned analytical background with explicit interest in strategy development and implementation, digital marketing, branding, communication, and copywriting. Having joined SAICE a few months ago, her priority is in adding value through building internal synergies between SAICE National Office, committees, divisions, branches, and student chapters. Nthabeleng speaks of her strategic focus saying, “Collaboration in creating joint strategies that leverage the experience and skills of members will empower SAICE to provide the necessary influence required in advancing the civil engineering profession.” Through growing the key areas that provide benefit to members in the form of advanced learning opportunities, networking platforms, and career development through newly formed initiatives such as SAICE Connect, the Marketing and PR Department has the advantage of utilising best-practice platforms and proactive campaigns to engage members and edify the industry. As a keen relationship builder with a flair for technology and data analysis, Nthabeleng believes in the ability of businesses to make accurate decisions through the use of data. This is an advantage that the current digital era has brought, where engage- ment can be accurately tracked, and communication tailored to meet individual needs. Verelene de Koker Editor: Journal of the South African Institution of Civil Engineering SAICE verelene@saice.org.za After having been the editor of SAICE’s maga- zine and journal since mid-2008, Verelene will now be focusing on the journal fulltime. The publication of peer-reviewed technical research papers on civil engineering remains one of the core functions of SAICE, as it consistently adds to the body of civil engineering knowledge of which the Institution, as a learned society, is the keeper. The forerunner of SAICE was established in 1903 precisely to share civil engineering knowledge and experience – those early meet- ings in fact consisted of papers being presented to and discussed by fellow engineers. SAICE’s journal publishes papers covering all the civil engi- neering disciplines and associated topics that are relevant to the civil engineering profession, particularly in southern Africa and on the African continent. The peer-reviewing process is managed by the SAICE Journal Panel. The journal is accredited internationally with ISI (now Thomson Scientific) and is hosted locally on the open-access database of SciELO, which is managed by the Academy of Science of South Africa under the auspices of the Department of Science and Technology. Hence the journal is also automatically accredited by the Department of Higher Education. The journal continues to attract considerable interest, and the online platform increases its visibility. Since its inclusion on the SciELO website in 2010, for example, SAICE journal papers have been downloaded from that site more than 700 000 times.  SAICE staff announcements SAICE welcomes new team members and changing roles within the national office team.