PROGRAMME
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Saturday, 5th
April 2025
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08:00 - 08:30
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Registration and networking
Start your day by registering, grabbing your
conference pack, and mingling with fellow participants.
Sijan Bhandari
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08:30 - 09:00
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Welcome and Opening Remarks
Opening session featuring welcomes from FIG
Council, GCA, FIG Foundation, FIG YSN and GCA YEP
leaders to set the tone for the conference.
Session Chair:
Marcus Schmitt, Vice-Chair, FIG YSN,
United States of America
Speakers
Kalogiannakis Michalis (FIG
Vice-President), Greece
TBA (GCA), Australia
Tony Wheele, CEO, Geospatial Council of
Australia(GCA), Australia
Shirley Chapunza, FIG YSN Chair,
Zimbabwe
James Sadler, GCA YEP Chair, Australia
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09:00 - 09:45
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Keynote Session - Next-Gen Geospatial
Professionals: Shaping a Digitally Enabled Future
A forward-thinking address by two industry
leaders exploring the role of young surveyors in the
rapidly evolving geospatial landscape and how they can
lead the way in leveraging digital tools and innovations
for the future of surveying.
Session Chair:
Oscar So, GCA YEP, Australia
Speakers
Lidija Spiranec, Product Manager for
Monitoring Solutions, Leica Geosystems AG, Croatia/
Switzerland
Denise Mckenzie, Managing Partner for
the PLACE Trust, Digital Geographer, United Kingdom
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09:45 - 10:15
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Grant Recipients Showcase
This session is dedicated to
the remarkable Young Surveyor Grant Award sponsors and
the award winners.
Session Chair:
Iaroslav Zifceac, Chair FIG YSN Europe,
Romania
Speakers:
John Hohol, President Emeritus,
FIG Foundation, United States of America
John Brock, Director of Brock Surveys
at Parramatta, Australia
4 FIG Foundation(Global)
1 RIPRO Corporation Japan (Ukraine)
4 John Brock Gift to the Future (Local)
1 Aubrey Barker Fund (Regional)
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10:15 - 10:20
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Group Photo
A chance to capture the
enthusiasm and energy of the conference participants
James Sadler,
Chair, GCA YEP, Australia
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10:20 - 13:30 |
Teabreak - One question, One person.
Walk up and talk to someone you don’t know and give
one prompt: “Why did you attend this conference?”
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10:30 - 11:15
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Empowering the Future: Celebrating Excellence
in Young Surveying
Session Chair:
Angela Anyakora, Vice-Chair, FIG YSN,
Nigeria
Hear from the FIG Foundation Young Surveyor Grant
Award, RIPRO Corporation Japan Ukrainian Young Surveyor
Award, Aubrey Barker Fund, and John Brock Gift to the
Future Award, winners.
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11:15 - 12:00 |
What makes a Next-Gen Geospatial Professional
This session will see three
young spatial professionals talk about what they think
makes a Next-Generation Geospatial Professional and the
steps they are taking to achieve this.
Session Chair:
Rindert Vos, Manager Architecture and Information
Management, Kadaster, Netherlands
Speakers:
Nozipho Madlala, Chief Professional
Surveyor and Senior Manager of Training, South Africa’s
Chief Directorate: National Geospatial Information,
South Africa
Cameron Lowe, Chair, NSPS YSN, United
States of America
Tina Baidar, Chief Survey Officer,
Survey Department under the Ministry of Land Management,
Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation, Nepal
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12:00 - 13:00
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Lunch - Meet an Expert
2 experts sit at a table and Young Surveyors chat
with them.
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13:00 - 13:40
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How Our Industry is Driving a Digitally
Enabled Future
Hear from two industry experts from ESRI and
Trimble as they provide guidance on how you can apply
the technology we have to making a digitally enabled
future
Session Chair:
Sijan Bhandari, Vice-Chair, GCA YEP,
Australia/Nepal
Speakers
Jennah Williams,National Science & Education
Manager, ESRI Australia
Markus Koper, Rotational program -
Project management, Trimble, New Zealand
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13:40 - 14:00
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Mapping Opportunities: Get Involved with VCSP
Discover how you can get involved with the
Volunteer Community Surveyors Program (VCSP)! Join us
for a quick, interactive session featuring a fun
icebreaker, a snapshot of opportunities in VCSP
projects, and practical ways to contribute. Connect,
learn, and map your path to new experiences!
Session Chairs:
Angela Anyakora, VCSP Co-Lead
David Elegbede, VCSP Co-Lead
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14:00 - 14:15
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Closing remarks
Recap of the day and plan for the rest of the
day.
Speaker:
Shirley Chapunza, Chair, FIG YSN,
Zimbabwe
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14:15 - 15:00
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Travel to Charity Event
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15:00 - 17:00
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Charity Event
In partnership with FIG WG2.3 on Learning Styles
in Surveying Education and FIG WG4.3 on Mapping the
Plastic, the charity event will focus on ocean
conservation drawing from the work of these two working
groups in partnership with the Young Surveyors Network.
Session Chairs:
James Sadler, Chair, GCA YEP, Australia
Narelle Underwood, FIG WG 2.3,
Australia
We donate money to
Deadly Science
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17:00 - 18:00
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Break/Travel to FIG YSN-Leica Social Event
Take a refresher before heading to the social event
at Plough Inn.
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18:00 - 21:00
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FIG YSN-Leica Social
Event
Networking cocktail at The Plough Inn sponsored
by
Leica Geosystems part of Hexagon.

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Sunday, 6th April
2025
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09:00 - 9:10
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Welcome and Opening Remarks
Recap of Day 1 and opening of plans for the
workshop
Speaker:
Angela Anyakora, Vice-Chair, FIG YSN,
Nigeria
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9:10 - 09:40
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Updates from FIG YSN Regional Networks
This session will feature updates from FIG YSN
Regional Network group leads, highlighting key
developments and ongoing initiatives within their
regions. Each lead will also share one specific action
they aim to achieve in their workshop, fostering
collaboration and impactful outcomes.
Session Chair:
Nozipho, Chief Professional Surveyor
and Senior Manager of Training, South Africa’s Chief
Directorate: National Geospatial Information, South
Africa
Speakers
Marcus Schmitt Chair,
FIG YSN Americas, United States of America
Iaroslav Zifceac Chair, FIG YSN Europe,
Romania
David Elegbede Chair, FIG YSN Africa,
Nigeria
Shristi Paudel Chair, FIG YSN, Asia and
Pacific, Nepal
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9:40 - 10:30
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The Future of Surveying: YSN Workshop
Help shape the FIG Regional network groups and
achieve their goal for their workshop.
Note: Participants cannot be in
their host region (i.e. if they are part of the Americas
region, they aren’t allowed to be in
the FIG YSN Americas group. Repeat for other groups).
Session Chair:
Shirley Chapunza, Chair, FIG YSN,
Zimbabwe
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10:30 - 11:00
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Break
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11:00 - 11:30 |
Finalise Workshop findings
This session will bring together all workshop
participants to finalize key findings and share insights
with the group for collective reflection and next steps.
Session Chair:
Shirley Chapunza, Chair, FIG YSN,
Zimbabwe
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11:30 -12:00
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Closing and Recap
What we’ve learned and what's next?
Speaker:
Marcus Schmitt, Vice-Chair, FIG YSN,
United States of America
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