Kathryn Denham-Maccioni
Digital Engagement Manager, Institution of Civil Engineers
Kathryn is the Digital Engagement Manager at the Institution of Civil Engineers and sits on the EngineeringUK Careers Working Group. She has worked with young people in education engagement since her early career starting in the theatre. She has been at ICE for the last 13 years championing STEM skills and careers that shape the world.
The power of storytelling in careers decisions
Kathryn Denham-Maccioni
Digital Engagement Manager, Institution of Civil Engineers
When you're a teenager, being asked “what do you want to be when you grow up?” can feel like an overwhelming question. The world is full of possibilities and pressure. With so many career paths to choose from, where do you even begin?
It’s a challenge that many young people (and their teachers and parents) wrestle with, and a new digital platform is trying to address this through storytelling.
ICE Futures, launched by the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), uses interactive storytelling to explore the varied world of civil engineering. The platform encourages young people to think differently about their future by offering a glimpse into a profession they might not have considered.
Civil engineering might not be the first thing that springs to mind when you ask a teenager what they want to do with their life. And yet, according to a BBC Bitesize careers survey, ‘engineer’ is one of the top career choices for young people, second only to ‘doctor.’
Civil engineering is everywhere. It’s behind the roads we drive on, the railways we depend on, the stadiums we cheer in, and the flood defences that keep communities safe. It’s problem-solving at scale, creativity with purpose.
But how do you make all of that feel real to someone just starting to explore their options? ICE Futures answers that question with a simple idea: let students walk in someone else’s shoes.
Through the eyes of Mae, Robyn, and Omar – the three fictional civil engineers in ICE Futures – users follow teenage career beginnings. From fascinating roles and projects in later roles, they watch and participate in the journey of civil engineering over a 50-year period.
Character stories are grounded in the kinds of decisions real engineers make every day, about climate, community, sustainability and more. Additionally, the experience is interactive and gamified. Quizzes, puzzles, choices, and bite-sized learning pop up along the way, reinforcing ideas without ever feeling like a classroom lesson. It’s learning by doing, learning by imagining, and crucially, it's learning by connecting.
Connecting school subjects like maths, science and geography to real-world impact, shows students that what they study today can shape the world tomorrow.
Of course, career decisions don’t happen in a vacuum. Teachers, careers advisers, and parents all play a role. ICE Futures is built with them in mind too. The platform aligns with Gatsby Benchmarks 1 and 4, making it an easy fit for classroom use and careers education. It’s also full of practical insights and curriculum-linked content to help young people connect the dots between the classroom and the construction site.
Take Robyn, for example, a character who works on the redevelopment of a local stadium. Her story weaves together geography (analysing locations), English (communicating with stakeholders), and a healthy dose of social responsibility. It’s not just about building things, it’s about building the right things, in the right way, for the right reasons.
The timing couldn’t be better. Total infrastructure investment over the next decade in the UK is expected to reach between £700 billion and £775 billion. This means more opportunity for the next generation of engineers but these aren’t just jobs - they’re missions. Civil engineers are the people designing the future we all have to live in.
ICE Futures is a starting point for students unsure of what to do next in their career. It’s not about having all the answers, it’s about starting the conversation. Inspire young people to see the world differently. They might discover a career that changes everything.
Civil engineering is everywhere. It’s behind the roads we drive on, the railways we depend on, the stadiums we cheer in, and the flood defences that keep communities safe. It’s problem-solving at scale, creativity with purpose.
— Kathryn Denham-Maccioni, Institution of Civil Engineers
