【正文】 in the UK is discussed. In order to illustrate the type of European research being undertaken, an example is given from the University of Edinburgh portfolio: relating to the identification of voids in posttensioned concrete bridges using digital impulse radar. Introduction The challenge in any research arena is to harness the findings of different research groups to identify a coherent mass of data, which enables research and practice to be better focused. A particular challenge exists with respect to Europe where language barriers are inevitably very significant. The European Community was formed in the 1960s based upon a political will within continental Europe to avoid the European civil wars, which developed into World War 2 from 1939 to 1945. The strong political motivation formed the original munity of which Britain was not a member. Many of the continental countries saw Britain’s interest as being purely economic. The 1970s saw Britain joining what was then the European Economic Community (EEC) and the 1990s has seen the widening of the munity to a European Union, EU, with certain political goals together with the objective of a mon European currency. Notwithstanding these financial and political developments, civil engineering and bridge engineering in particular have found great difficulty in forming any kind of mon thread. Indeed the educational systems for University training are quite different between Britain and the European continental countries. The formation of the EU funding schemes — . Socrates, Brite Euram and other programs have helped significantly. The Socrates scheme is based upon the exchange of students between Universities in different member states. The Brite Euram scheme has involved technical research grants given to consortia of academics and industrial partners within a number of the states— a Brite Euram bid would normally be led by an industrialist. In terms of dissemination of kn