The Association of Surveyors of Papua New Guinea (ASPNG) will be hosting a special 50th commemorative congress this year in Port Moresby, 27-29 July. The conference organisers are now calling for interested parties to submit abstracts, exhibit or register to attend.

The theme of “50 YEARS of SURVEY CONGRESS in PNG” reflects a half century of the event where members of ASPNG and interested professionals to get together, present technical papers and discuss issues regarding surveying, mapping, education and training, technology (equipment / software), surveyor’s registration, government regulations, policies, and to socialise.

Although the Association was formed on in 1960, the Papua New Guinea has a rich and fascinating history of surveying and mapping dating back to at least 1886 when the first Survey plan of Port Moresby was created by Walter R. Cuthbertson.

The rich history of surveying in the region since this time and long into the future will be discussed during over two days of the congress. The call for papers is currently open and conference organisers are asking for interested presenters to submit their abstracts by 20 June 2016.

Price: ASPNG non-member PGK1300 (approx. AU$553), QSSA members PGK850 (approx. AUD420)

Spatial Information Day 2016 (SID2016) is the largest one-day surveying and spatial sciences conference in Australia and has just announced an impressive lineup of speakers in a diverse program aimed to educate graduates through to executives.

The annual event is an initiative of the Surveying & Spatial Sciences Institute (SSSI) and Spatial Industries Business Association (SIBA), representing professionals and businesses covering Surveying (land, engineering & mining, hydrographic), Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry and Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

SID2016 is open to all industries, government and private, showcasing how spatial technology is being used to create smarter, safer, better connected communities.

The SID2016 program will feature four high-quality keynote speakers across the morning and afternoon sessions. These presentations will demonstrate the enormous scale and diversity of spatial projects today.

Program highlights include:

• Paul Gray, CEO, Cohda Wireless – Positioning Requirements of Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAV)
• Dan Paull, CEO, PSMA Australia – Geoscape – Capturing Australia’s Built Environment
• Daniel Kruimel, Business Development Manager – SE Asia, AAM – Singapore: Smart City or Smart Nation?
• John Dalla-Zuanna, The Wet Mules – Cave Exploration & Mapping with The Wet Mules

Sessions across four concurrent streams will cover surveying, environmental applications of GIS, social applications of GIS, data capture from ground to space, GIS asset management and future technology. There is also a dedicated Professional Development stream hosted by the SSSI Young Professionals and Women in Spatial groups.

By popular demand, the majority of concurrent presentations will be short 12 minute “quick fire” format. This encourages, sharp, punchy messaging from speakers, minus the lengthy background information and business promotion.

An Exhibition Hall, with generous breaks and a Happy Hour will provide ample opportunity to meet with colleagues and friends and to engage speakers and exhibitors in deeper conversation.

Finally, the SA Spatial Excellence Awards (SASEA) Dinner will be held in the picturesque Panorama Room overlooking Adelaide Oval and the redevelopment projects along the Adelaide Riverbank, celebrating the achievements of our industries over the past year with awards delivered by the host organisations SIBA and SSSI.

Event Website: http://spatialinformationday.org.au/

Held once every three years, the Congress and associated exhibition, serves to share knowledge in the science and practice of mine surveying, mining and geotechnical engineering, geology, mineral evaluation and allied disciplines.

This year the Congress theme, “Connecting Education and Industry” aims to bring the program back to the ‘coal face’ of our international industry, ensuring that mine surveyors working on-site as well as academics are involved.

For those who have attended an ISM Congress before, a large component has always been on cultural emersion and forging international connections; and ISM2016 will be no different. With an extensive social program, there are social functions each night, as well as optional technical tour and a walking tour for accompanying persons.

The 23rd World Congress on Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) will span five days this October at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. Registrations are now open with earlybird pricing ending 5 July.

Proudly hosted by ITS Australia, on behalf of ITS Asia Pacific, ERTICO and ITS America, the World Congress is themed ITS – Enhancing Liveable Cities and Communities. More than 7,000 delegates from more than 60 countries are expected to attend, among them will be Australian and international ITS professionals, government and major city representatives, industry and business leaders, and university and school students.

The Congress will include Plenary and keynote speakers, special interest sessions and more than 300 exhibitors.

Attendees will also be able to experience demonstrations and go on behind-the-scenes technical tours to the Port of Melbourne, the largest container port in the Southern Hemisphere, Melbourne Airport and traffic management centres for the city’s road, rail and tram network.

Lord Mayor of Melbourne Robert Doyle said the world’s most liveable city has a strong reputation for welcoming conference delegates.

“Melbourne is the ideal city to host the 2016 ITS Congress as we are home to commerce, education, health, sport, cultural and residential areas which can all be accessed by foot, on bike, via public transport or in vehicles,” the Lord Mayor said.

“Connectivity, safety and sustainability have been essential elements of Melbourne’s liveability and prosperity.”

ITS Australia CEO Susan Harris said the Congress is an opportunity to explore the benefits that intelligent transport systems deliver to cities and communities.

“ITS technologies include communication, data processing and electronic technologies for in-vehicle, vehicle-to-vehicle, vehicle-to-infrastructure and mode-to-mode systems that increase transport safety and mobility, improve the sustainability of travel, reduce congestion and improve the performance and competitiveness of all modes of transport.

“This is an opportunity for delegates to share knowledge, connect and engage, and participate in discussions and decision making which will shape future transport, mobility and infrastructure in Australia and around the world,” Ms Harris said.

In 1969 Jack Dangermond, alongside his wife Laura, co-founded the Environmental Systems Research Institute, now known the world over as Esri. In 2015, Dangermond’s net worth was estimated by Forbes at US$3.1 billion and Esri, with its flagstaff suite of ArcGIS products, has become one of the most powerful GIS software providers ever.

Dangermond is highly respected as both a technologist and passionate speaker of geospatial topics and in 2016 will visit Australia for a rare live event.

Don’t miss your chance to spend an afternoon with Jack Dangermond ‘live’ at the Sydney Opera House, 13 October 2016.

Tickets for this never-to-be-repeated special event go on sale soon, and will be announced through Spatial Source.

For all ticket or sponsorship enquiries please contact events@esriaustralia.com.au.

Digital Engineering has taken a quantum leap in recent years with the advent of BIM / CIM gathering momentum very quickly within the civil space. The benefits this collaborative, metadata rich and visually dynamic platform brings to all stakeholders within civil infrastructure projects cannot be underestimated.

However, it has introduced a range of challenges to the Engineering Surveyor including actually being able to utilise BIM data in day to day set-out and in terms of Work as Executed deliverables and reporting.

This seminar seeks to provide insight into this brave new world of Digital Engineering, bringing together Subject Matter Experts from within industry and software houses to raise awareness of what Digital Engineering actually is, how it directly impacts the engineering surveyor, case studies from the work face and a panel discussion focused on where the construction industry is at with Digital Engineering implementation, authorities / projects which are moving culturally to DE, issues for surveyors in working with BIM data, an IFC data standard update and of course, general QA from the audience.

Presented by SSSI Engineering & Mining Surveying Commission.

The Year in Infrastructure 2016 Conference, being held Nov. 1-3 at the Hilton London Metropole, in London, U.K., is a global gathering of leading executives in the world of infrastructure design, construction, and operations. Facilitated by infrastructure software vendors Bentley Systems, it will feature a series of presentations and interactive workshops exploring the intersection of technology and business drivers and how they are shaping the future of infrastructure delivery and investment returns.

The conference will also include the Be Inspired Awards finals program and presentation of the Be Inspired Awards to the winners, as well as summits focused on infrastructure asset performance and project delivery, and forums focused on building; rail and roads; oil, gas, chemical and mining – including offshore; utilities (electric, gas, and water); and visions for the future.

For additional information about The Year in Infrastructure 2016 Conference, visit www.bentley.com/YIIConference.