The 12th Spanish National Symposium on Geotechnical Engineering (12 SNIG), held jointly with the 9th Spanish-Portuguese Geotechnical Meeting, took place in Santander, Spain, from 22 to 25 September 2026. Organised by the Spanish Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (SEMSIG) under the theme “Geotechnical Challenges of the 21st Century”, the symposium brought together around 290 participants, including approximately 40 young professionals.

Young members had a prominent place in the programme through the ISSMGE Bright Spark Lecture distinctions, awarded to Matías Alonso (CIMNE – Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya), Carlos Stenta (Ferrovial Construcción) and Carlos Laina (Laboratorio de Geotecnia, CEDEX). The awarded work covered topics ranging from the hydro-mechanical modelling of sealing systems for deep geological repositories to the bearing capacity of shallow foundations.

Carlos Laina has also recently been appointed as SEMSIG’s new liaison to the ISSMGE Young Members Presidential Group (YMPG), succeeding Natalia Montero, whom we thank for her dedicated contribution over recent years.

The YMPG congratulates the Bright Spark recipients and SEMSIG on a successful symposium.

More information: https://12snig.es/

Photo: courtesy of SEMSIG.