As lighting consultants, we’re all about providing great lighting solutions — and securing planning permission for all our clients. But those aren’t the only things we do…

To help make the industry a better place, we’re always getting stuck into awareness days, training sessions and exhibitions — including (drumroll please) the Professional Lighting Summit in Manchester!

Hosted by the Institution of Lighting Professionals (ILP) from the 14th to the 15th of June 2023, this summit will bring together experts from all kinds of lighting fields to participate in sponsored workshops, share knowledge at training sessions and showcase their services.

With learning and networking opportunities at every corner, this exciting annual event provides engineers, manufacturers and designers (that’s us!) a valuable forum to chat, broaden their horizons and celebrate the latest lighting triumphs.

We know you’ll be wondering what exactly we’re doing there — and why you should get involved. So, we’ve put together a summary of everything you need to know about the upcoming Professional Lighting Summit below, including what it’s all about and how our team members are taking part…

Uniting the lighting industry

As most lighting professionals will know, the ILP is one of the leading professional bodies — working with the government on legislation and regulations that impact how we light the world around us.

The ILP is also responsible for running training courses on both interior and exterior lighting projects, helping upskill budding lighting experts and hosting continuing professional development (CPD) seminars to keep existing lighting professionals up to speed with the changing industry.

Of course, the ILP also hosts national lighting events — but the Professional Lighting Summit is its most popular (and our personal favourite).

Not only does this exciting event bring together lots of exhibitors and industry professionals under one roof, where companies can spend two full days speaking with customers and answering questions about their brands, but it’s also jam-packed with activities.

This year’s agenda will include conferences and workshops, covering everything from the link between poor lighting and night crime to how we can meet net-zero targets with clever lighting design. And this brings us to what we’ll be doing at the summit!

As proud sponsors of the Professional Lighting Summit, three of our very own lighting professionals will be putting themselves in front of the crowds during the two-day event…

Promoting equality in the workplace

It’s no secret that the lighting industry could be more diverse, with male lighting professionals outnumbering female ones by a mile. To raise awareness of this issue — and do our bit to help change it — one of our senior lighting designers, Amanda Reece, is doing a talk all about women in lighting at the exhibition.

Amanda’s talk will shine a light on the history of female lighting professionals and suggest ways we can encourage more women to join the industry — showing attendees how to create a more welcoming, gender-equal working environment.

Amanda said: ‘It is an honour and privilege to be spearheading the campaign to improve equality and equity for women in the industry. Having a platform where they can feel safe, included and valued is a big step forward in promoting and encouraging women within the lighting industry’.

Spreading the message about LAMP

Many industries have struggled to recruit new employees in recent years — and lighting is no different. Unfortunately, not enough newbies are embarking on careers in lighting, leaving many businesses without fresh talent. That’s why we started our learning and mentoring programme, known as the LAMP Academy!

This scheme is designed to provide a fast-tracked route to becoming a lighting engineer, encouraging people to join the industry and inject a new lease of life into DFL. The DFL team will be on hand at the summit to talk to attendees about the academy, so if you know someone that might benefit from it or would like to learn more about it, make sure you stop by to say hi!

Taking on a new role

Like the LAMP Academy, the Young Lighting Professionals initiative is the ILP’s answer to the lack of skilled talent joining the lighting industry — designed to motivate youngsters to take their first steps in becoming fully fledged lighting experts. As big fans of this praise-worthy scheme, we’ve always been keen to play some part in it.

So, we’re thrilled that Ryan Carroll, the department lead for our Lighting Impact and Planning Team, is now the chair of the Young Lighting Professionals and will be at the summit! In his new role, Ryan will be responsible for running the group — continuing the company’s efforts to champion education and inspiration for the next generation of lighting professionals.

As you can see, the Professional Lighting Summit is set to be an exciting two days: a must-attend for anyone looking to play a more active role in the lighting industry, brush up on key topics and have a chinwag with like-minded professionals. Trust us when we say it’s not one to miss!

Last but by no means least…

DFL will also be holding a workshop on both days titled ‘The Leading Question’. The event will be hosted by Richard Jackson, our executive director, and will take on a similar theme to 2022 when we hosted a debate on a recent hot topic in the industry. Last year’s ‘Blue Light’ discussion was well-attended and engaged with; this year, we want to talk about EV charging on public pavements and get everyone’s thoughts on what to do with the cable-on-the-pavement conundrum’.

Richard commented: ‘We know the cable-on-the-pavement issue is a tough nut to crack. But as with most things at DFL, we don’t just do what everyone else does — we really want to explore the good, the bad and the indifferent. People are seeing this issue with EV charging on highways, so let’s see if we can discuss, debate and work up some solutions’.

As always, we’re sure the workshop will be lively and interactive!

Keen to see what DFL has to say at this year’s Professional Lighting Summit? Great, because we’d love to see you there! The summit will be held at Manchester’s Science and Industry Museum from the 14th to the 15th of June. Book your space today; we can’t wait to meet you.