Karlsruhe, 16 June 2016 | “The topics being covered are as diverse as the geo community itself,” says Professor Karl-Friedrich Thöne, President of the DVW, describing the INTERGEO conference programme, which has just been launched. The conference hosts have opted for a mix of the very latest trends and tried-and-tested topics.
Smart City
One of the cornerstones of INTERGEO 2016 is the digital city, or smart city. Indeed, the challenges associated with the burgeoning urban living environments around the world are enormous. Whether mobility, safety, security, power supplies or environmental protection – sustainable strategies have to be considered in a whole range of areas if cities are to remain healthy places that offer a good standard of living and can fully harness their economic potential. The conviction at INTERGEO, the leading global communications platform, is that “it won’t work without Geo IT”. That is why presentation categories and rounds of discussion in the conference programme have a clear focus on the topic of smart cities. For example, there are presentation categories under the titles “Pathways towards the digital city”, “Sustainability in a resilient city”, “Basic data for smart cities” and the “Smart cities – supporting decision-making and involving inhabitants” topic category, which is closely interlinked with the smart city. The host city for INTERGEO 2016, Hamburg, is leading the way in Germany when it comes to enacting a digital strategy. “The results can already be seen – including in the keynote speech by Dr. Sebastian Saxe from Hamburg Port Authority (HPA), which focuses on intelligent system networking as a means of organizing the entire port area,” explains Prof. Thöne, who is President of the DVW – the German Society for Geodesy, Geoinformation and Land Management.
Building information modelling
The inclusion of building information modelling (BIM) in the conference programme brings a new dimension to INTERGEO. “BIM goes to the very heart of our sector. In the light of major wrong turns, the value creation chain in the planning, building and operating of structures is absolutely the strategy for the future,” says Thöne. This is highlighted by presentation categories such as “BIM – opportunity and challenge” and “The national BIM strategy”, the latter of which is dedicated to the multi-tiered Digital Planning and Building plan that the German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) is currently implementing. Conference delegates from around the world will be able to take examples of best practice from current projects away with them.
Core topics from the real world
Besides highlighting the hot topics that are currently driving debate, the programme is also addressing the core issues in the sector. The subject matter ranges widely, from engineering geodesy through to career issues. Topics such as GNSS positioning, the value of geoinformation, open data, land consolidation, COPERNICUS and the presentation category “The qualification framework in geodesy – how important is engineering?” have clear target audiences in the form of experts and up-and-coming talents in geodesy, geoinformation and land management.
International keynote speakers
Internationality and high-level expertise are constant themes throughout the three-day conference programme. Keynote speakers such as Nigel Clifford, Chief Executive of British Ordnance Survey, and Vice President of Trimble, Bryn Fosburgh, will be talking about the challenges and opportunities in the 21st century markets that are driven by geodata. In a move to ensure INTERGEO can offer an attractive portfolio for international participants, presentations and broad swathes of the conference programme will feature simultaneous interpreting or be presented by international speakers.
DVW President Thöne: “Once again, this year’s INTERGEO conference shows that we take our slogan ‘Knowledge and action for planet Earth’ seriously. I am already looking forward to three days packed full of high-quality information and forward-looking inspiration.”
INTERGEO TV also informs about the conference on ww.intergeo-tv.com.
INTERGEO 2016 will be held in Hamburg from 11 to 13 October.
About INTERGEO
INTERGEO, which consists of a conference and a trade fair, is the world’s largest event for geodesy, geoinformation and land management. It is held every year at different venues in Germany. The conference deals with current issues from politics, administration, science and industry, and had around 1,200 participants. At last year’s leading trade fair, more than 16,500 visitors from 90 countries discovered the latest innovations from 549 companies from 30 different countries. Visitor, exhibitor and exhibition area statistics for INTERGEO are calculated and certified in line with the standardised definitions of the FKM (Society for the Voluntary Control of Fair and Exhibition Statistics).
INTERGEO’s continuing aim is to facilitate process optimization in numerous target markets with the geo-IT potential it showcases. Its forthcoming venues are the internationally renowned exhibition cities of Hamburg in 2016, Berlin in 2017 and Frankfurt am Main in 2018.
DVW – German Society for Geodesy, Geoinformation and Land Management is the host of INTERGEO.