Alistair Byrom Nominated Chair
Following SIBA|GITA's Annual General Meeting, Board Director Alistair Byrom, Property Survey Manager Qld of Veris Australia has been appointed by the Board as the new Chair. Alistair has had a long involvement with SIBA|GITA, joining the board of Spatial Queensland Limited in 2006 and serving as Chair from 2009 - 2015, and joining the national SIBA|GITA Board in 2015, previously being elected as Chair in 2017 & 2018.
Former Chair Daniel Harvey will be remaining on the board as a Director, alongside newly nominated Treasurer Glenn Cockerton, and Directors Mehrnoush Ghorbani and Wanda Skerrett.
We thank Daniel for his service over his years as Chair of SIBA|GITA.
Introduction: SIBA|GITA's New General Manager Danika Bakalich
I’d like to introduce myself to you as the new General Manager of SIBA|GITA. I am very excited to join the spatial industry and to be part of an industry association that has been at the helm of driving significant change for the sector for several decades.
SIBA|GITA has gone through various iterations to be the association it is today and undoubtedly will continue to go through change into the future. At the core of this change is and should remain the unrelenting focus on strengthen and profiling the spatial industry to secure its future.
We recognise the value of sharing experiences, learnings and perspectives and are re-activating our regional branches. We are improving our efforts to profile excellence across the industry and identifying and working to resolve key impediments being faced by members.
Through deeper engagement with our members and focused effort, we aim to:
- Elevate the stature of the industry;
- Increase awareness of the critical importance of the spatial industry across all industries sectors and the economy; and
- Fortify a strong and unified voice that understands and advocates for the industry through inclusivity and diversity.
To do this, we do need your support. We would value your participation by:
- Telling like-minded people about SIBA|GITA;
- Share with us your success stories and challenges;
- Stay connected and participate in regional and national activities through membership engagement programs; and
- Being engaged as a SIBA|GITA member.
I look forward to collaborating with you to leverage new opportunities to strengthen and increase membership value and growth for the industry.
Feel free to reach out to me if you'd like to be more involved with SIBA|GITA.
Danika Bakalich
General Manager
SIBA|GITA
DBakalich@spatialbusiness.org
Locate21
The Locate21 conference was held from March 29 to April 1 this year across four live sites and simultaneously broadcast live online. The conference brought together experts and professionals from the spatial industries, with over 500 delegates attending the conference. With COVID-19 restrictions taking place before the main conference in Brisbane, the quick shift to a predominantly online format was seamless, and echoed this year's conference theme of Convergence, Collaboration, and Community, with Q&A panels and workshops seeing enthusiastic digital engagement from attendees nationwide.
A continued call-to-action at the conference was the collaboration between the many specialties that exist within spatial, and finding a unified voice to project and champion the many value propositions that are on offer.
From the outset there was a strong focus on how the past year has highlighted the importance of the industry and its vital role in paving the way for the future, and the immense opportunities that lay in wait in a digital world.
With speakers and panelists from a large variety of disciplines including government and private enterprise, data scientists and surveyors, young professionals and industry leaders, the conference continues to ensure ongoing development across the spatial industries, the seizing of opportunities, and inspiring the next generation of students to get into spatial.
As a stakeholder in Locate Conferences Australia, we at SIBA|GITA send our greatest thanks to the organisers, sponsors, speakers, panelists and delegates that contributed to the success of Locate21. We look forward to seeing you again next year!
Locate Podcast
With another successful Locate Conference wrapped, continue the discussion with the Locate Podcast. The podcast shares with you a deep dive into the lives, motivators and future legacies of some of the key players of the Locate Conference, Australia’s annual national gathering for custodians of location data creation and management.
Locate 22 Announced
Following the success of the Locate21 conference, the new destination for the 2022 conference has been announced.
The 2021 conference saw over 500 people attending the three live sites and streaming online over four days, with the Locate Hub hosting 25 panelists over 7 sessions. The conferences theme of convergence, collaboration, and community was actualised over the many interactive panel sessions, presentations, and forums.
Following the conference, Geosciences Australia, Local Hosts for Locate22, announced that next year's conference will be held in Canberra in May 2022.
APSEA National Winners Announced
Congratulations to all of our national Asia Pacific Spatial Excellence Award winners for 2020. All the winners were announced via APSEA Online as part of the Locate21 Conference, with 360 Surveying taking out the coveted JK Barrie award for their project Building 22 - Osborne South Naval Precinct.
The awards were presented both live and virtually on March 31st as part of the Locate21 conference held across 3 live sites and broadcast online.
The APSEAs seek to recognise excellence by organisations and individuals in the spatial industry across the Asia Pacific region in six industry award categories and five individual award categories. We congratulate all our APSEA winners for their outstanding achievements and ongoing contribution to the spatial industries.
Industry Awards
- Award for Technical Excellence, JK Barrie Award
Building 22 - Osborne South Naval Precinct 360 Surveying
- Award for Spatial Enablement
Brisbane Airport Digital Twin Project Brisbane Airport Corporation & Land Solution Australia
- Award for People & Community
Satellite-based Augmentation System (SBAS) Test-Bed Geoscience Australia, Land Information New Zealand & FrontierSI
- Award for Innovation & Commercialisation
Rail Runner Veris Australia
- Award for Environment & Sustainability
Port Phillip Bay Coastal Hazard Assessment CSIRO’s Data61 and DELWP’s Forest Fire and Regions and Local Infrastructure Groups
Individual Awards
- SIGA|GITA Chair's Award
Lee Hellen Managing Director, Land Solution Australia
- SSSI President's Award
Paul Reed Land Surveyor, East Coast Surveys
- Professional Eminence Award
Allison Kealy Chief Research Officer & Research Program Director, SmartSatCRC, Professor, Geospatial Science, RMIT University
- Professional of the Year
Alistair Byrom Property Survey Manager QLD, Veris
- Young Professional of the Year
Michael Topp Surveyor, Veris
- Women's Leadership Award
Melissa Harris Registrar of Titles & A/Chief Executive Land Use Victoria, DELWP
- Educational Development Award
Dr Ivana Ivanova Senior Lecturer and FrontierSI Research Fellow, Curtin University
- Postgraduate Student Award
Dr Wallace Boone Law Visiting Researcher, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Adelaide
Dr Antara Dasgupta Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Osnabrueck
- Undergraduate Student Award
Alexei Tiong GIS Graduate, Alexander Symonds
- Undergraduate Student Award (highly commended)
Daniel Fowler Location Intelligence Analyst, Cardno
- V.E.T Student Award
Russell Commins Senior Systems Coordinator, SCIMS and CORS, Spatial Services, NSW Department of Customer Service
Awareness counts: Space, Surveying and Spatial Diversity and Inclusion Survey
For the space and spatial sectors to be able to sustainably grow and innovate in the coming years, a diverse workforce is needed. The Space, Surveying and Spatial Diversity Leadership Network (SSS-DLN) is leveraging its network of 80-strong members to amplify and advance efforts to improve the diversity of our sector. A key outcome will be to benchmark, monitor and report on the state of diversity and inclusion to build the evidence base for action.
The SSS-DLN has formed a Research Steering Committee with representatives from ANZLIC, SSSI, SIBA/GITA, SSS-DLN, EOA, CSN and S&SNZ to ensure a sector-wide approach is taken.
It is intended that later in year all members and their staff will be invited to respond to our diversity & inclusion benchmarking survey. Visit SSS-DLN or sign up to get involved.
Applications Open for Victoria's Technology Adoption and Innovation Program
The Victorian Government is launching the $5 million Technology Adoption and Innovation Program to provide support to eligible Victorian small to medium size enterprises (SMEs) to on-board innovative technologies or develop innovative, new and commercial technology projects.
The program contains two streams of financial assistance outlined below:
- Stream 1 – SME technology and digital adoption: Grants of up to $50,000 for Victorian SMEs to adopt technology or digital solutions to improve their processes and productivity and support their future growth. These projects will be delivered with a specialised provider that will partner with the SME to deliver products or services within the SME.
- Stream 2 – Innovative, commercial technology development: Grants of up to $50,000 for Victorian technology companies to implement defined projects to develop commercial technology or digital products.
Under both Streams each successful SME will be required to co-contribute a minimum of $20,000 (GST exclusive) towards eligible project expenditure. A 1:1 cash co-contribution is required (between the SME and government up to the maximum grant amount.
Applications are open now and will close at 11.59pm on 19 April 2021
Local Businesses Become Defence Industry Ready
Ipswich City Council has launched Operation Scale-Up 2021, a pilot program aimed at supporting local businesses to become defence industry ready. The program will connect 24 regional businesses with defence industry partners, including Boeing, Raytheon, and Airbus, to provide mentoring and pathways for local business to engage with larger scale defence industry manufacturing.
The program is the first of its kind in Australia, and takes advantage of the Commonwealth Government's agreement to accelerate a $1 billion Sovereign Guided Weapons Enterprise. Participation is open to businesses within South-East Queensland, and applications are open for Operation Scale Up now.
Becoming Defence Industry Ready
The Centre for Defence Industry Capability (CDIC) is a government initiative to connect small businesses engage with innovation, construction and export within the Australian Defence Industry.
The CDIC portal hosts a variety of pathways for business to engage with defence, including facilitation, grants, events, and business support.
Regional Development Australia
Regional Development Australia (RDA) is an Australian Government initiative that brings together all levels of government to enhance the development of Australia's regions. A national network of RDA committees has been established to achieve this objective.
Getting In To Spatial - The Next Generation
Destination Spatial is an organisation focussed on creating pathways for students to get in to the spatial industries. With geospatial scientists in demand in workplaces across the country, Destination Spatial sees an importance in promoting the spatial industry to students, and also promoting and connecting students of spatial to employers across the industry.
Become an Ambassador
With a documented skills shortage affecting the geospatial science field, Destination Spatial needs industry ambassadors to promote the profession at careers expos, in the workplace and at selected special events.
Becoming an industry ambassador is a rewarding experience that gives you the opportunity to inspire, one-on-one, the young people that will make up the future members of the profession. That is – those that will push geospatial science forward into the mid-21st century, and beyond.
To express your interest, visit the Destination Spatial Website
Spatial Digital Twins Special Interest Group
Announced at the Locate21 Conference, the SSSI Spatial Digital Twin Special Interest Group (SDT-SIG), chaired by Wayne Patteson, aims to educate, leverage and develop capabilities for surveying and spatial professionals in this emerging technology and to provide highly relevant learning and development opportunities for members of the spatial industries.
The SDT-SIG aims to:
- Encourage and promote the advancement of SDT knowledge;
- Establish SSSI as an effective, trusted and well recognised organisation and hub for surveying and spatial sciences and other Digital Twin experts in Australia;
- Facilitate inclusive and collaborative partnerships – locally, nationally and globally;
- Foster and strengthen information sharing among SDT-SIG Member Agencies, and with government, community, industry and private sectors;
- Enable access to information collected and shared by participants including knowledge of what information exists, and how and where to find it.
Six SDT-SIG working groups have been established including:
- WG 1.0 Events
- WG 2.0 Advocacy & Communications
- WG 3.0 Partnerships
- WG 4.0 Education & Training
- WG 5.0 Standards
- WG 6.0 Capacity
Members of the surveying and spatial science community are invited to register their interest to participate in these working groups.
Tender Alerts
All SIBA|GITA Members receive weekly tender alerts with both local and international tenders.
Become a member today to get weekly updates on tenders and grow your business.
SIBA|GITA Queensland Branch Meet-Up
Thursday 29 April
3:00pm - 4:00pm
The first SIBA|GITA Queensland Branch Meet-Up for 2021 will be taking place at the SIBA|GITA Head Office in Milton, Brisbane, and also live via Zoom on Thursday April 29 from 3:00pm.
We'll be joined on the day by Margaret Blade and Tracy Scott-Rimington from Regional Development Australia Brisbane, who will talk about the many opportunities for the spatial industry throughout Brisbane and across regional Queensland
Our Queensland Branch Chair Peter James, and SIBA|GITA General Manager Danika Bakalich are looking forward to catching up with all of those involved in the Queensland spatial industry.
Registration for the branch meeting is not mandatory and all are welcome, but if you would like to attend please get in touch. The branch meet-up will also be available to join via Zoom for those who are unable to attend in-person.
To RSVP for the event, please email mexton@spatialbusiness.org
SIBA|GITA Victorian Branch Meet-Up
Tuesday 4 May
9:00am - 11:00am
With Victoria now back to a Covid normal state, and larger meetings possible, we would like to personally invite you to our 2021 Victorian SIBA-GITA branch kickoff. Hosted by Spatial Vision, the Victorian Branch Chair Jacinta Burns and SIBA|GITA General Manager Danika Bakalich, we are looking forward to bringing the industry together and discussing how SIBA-GITA can expand the range of services that are provided to our members, and take a more active role in commenting on government policy and other relevant areas.
The event will take place on Tuesday May 4 at the Spatial Vision office. If you are interested in attending the event, please RSVP by email to jacinta.burns@pelicancorp.com
ITS Asia Pacific Forum
April 12 - 15, 2021
The conference theme, “ITS Innovation Creating Liveable Communities”, will demonstrate Australia’s new initiatives and adapted learnings from the advances of our neighbouring megacities. Key topics to be covered include MaaS, Automated Vehicles, Data Analytics, Transport Inclusivity, and Network Development.
Given the ongoing restrictions related to the recent outbreak of Covid-19 in Brisbane, the 17th ITS Asia Pacific Forum will be held as a fully digital event. This digital version of the Forum will take place, as planned, from 12–15 April 2021.
ANZ Launch of the Locus Charter
28 April 2021
3:00 - 4:00pm AEST
The Locus Charter is based on a broad international collaboration of governments, organisations and individual practitioners seeking to ensure the ethical & responsible use of location data throughout the world.
The Locus Charter has been developed through international workshops, and forms the basis for further collaboration. Click here to view the document.
The webinar will feature a presentation of the Locus Charter from Denise McKenzie & Ben Hawes, Co-Directors of Benchmark Initiative, and a panel discussion with SIBA|GITA General Manager Danika Bakalich, S+SNZ President Kathryn Salm, and President-Elect of SSSI Lesley Arnold.
Join us for the Australian & New Zealand Launch of the Charter and to find out more about how to get involved.
Registration
By registering below, you receive access to the watch the webinar live OR if you can't watch it live, you receive the link to the recording 24 hours after the event date. You can then watch the recording at your leisure.
Save The Date: National Roads & Traffic Expo
15 - 16 September 2021
Off the back of a successful virtual event, the National Roads & Traffic Expo is back and will be held on 14 & 15 September in Sydney at the ICC.
The National Roads & Traffic Expo is where road authorities, local government and the industry’s largest private organisations meet to find new suppliers, partners and decision-makers involved in civil construction, traffic management, road maintenance, operations and asset management of roads, bridges, tunnels across Australia.
Registrations are now open, and attendance is free.
Spatial Information Day & APSEA SA
17 September 2021
Spatial Information Day & APSEA-SA 2021 is taking place on Friday 17 September at the Adelaide Convention Centre. Spatial Information Day is is a once-in-a-year opportunity to discover and network with potential employers in the spatial industry, and provides a platform for you to learn from local, interstate and international delegates, speakers and exhibitors.
Following Spatial Information Day, the APSEA SA gala dinner event will be taking place.
Call for abstracts
Interested in presenting at South Australia's premier geospatial event? Why not submit an abstract for consideration for the program? Click here for more details. The call for abstracts closes Monday 14 June 2021.
We're always on the lookout to share what our members are doing - if you know of something going on that you're proud to work on, or want to tell us about a project that excites you, drop us a line.
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