Philip Smart | Adelaide

Adelaide will host the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE) major annual symposium in July, the first time the prestigious international event has come to this country since 2001.

Australian INCOSE partner, the Systems Engineering Society of Australia (SESA), will stage the six day IS2017 symposium from July 15, describing it as “a real once-in-a-career opportunity for local systems engineers and those in related areas to engage with some of the best and most senior people in the world of systems engineering”.

The conference is about dealing with complex systems and understanding how those complex systems will integrate together

Plenary sessions will cover major issues in defence, transportation, autonomous systems and space. Key speakers will include Air Vice Marshal Mel Hupfeld, Head of Force Design in the Vice Chief of Defence Force Group, who will speak on “Force Design: Evolution not Revolution” in the first plenary.

“AVM Hupfeld will speak on force design and the big push we have under the First Principles Review, saying we need to think joint, we need to think broader, we need to think systems,” Jaci Pratt, SESA project lead for the IS2017 conference said.

The keynotes will also feature Dr Tomohiko Taniguchi, special adviser to the cabinet of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, detailing development of the Japanese Shinkansen Bullet Train, including its genesis and safety assurance process.

“Taniguchi will talk about transportation and what happened with the Shinkansen and how that was all put in to place,” Pratt said. “It’s about managing a fundamental change in moving to fast rail.”

Other speakers from organisations such as Northrop Grumman, the DST Group and universities will offer views on systems architecture, system of systems sustainment and integration, test and evaluation.

“These people are everybody from really technical people right up to big picture thinkers, people that are shaping major changes in the way we do business,” Pratt said.

“So we’re hoping for people in science, technology and management to actually step out and start thinking about what systems engineering can offer them. And perhaps change the way they think in to the future.

“The conference is about dealing with complex systems and understanding how those complex systems will integrate together; how you design, build and integrate a system and then place it into service to deliver maximum value. That’s what we’re all after.”

IS2017 will also include working group meetings, tutorials and an exhibition of systems engineering services, tools and technology and education.