A MASSIVE thank you to over 50 attendees who joined us for our first Perth Sundowner Event, a collaborative effort by the Australian Space Data Analysis Facility (www.asdaf.space) and EOA to celebrate the end of the AEO Mini Forum.
Hosted in the Curtin University Old Boys School in Perth’s CBD, the evening began with some networking upon arrival where there was an air of excitement and gratitude to be able to have a restriction-free event.
Professor Melanie Johnston-Hollitt opened the event with the Acknowledgement of Country and information about Australian Space Data Analysis Facility (ASDAF), promoting the newly launched service of Data Engineering and accessing Data Science Expertise through the team at the Curtin Institute for Computation. A big thank you to Dr Jasmine Muir for stepping in to promote Earth Observation Australia Inc. and the impact of the collective efforts of the EO community across Australia.
Our diverse panel of experts shared their journey into EO – thank you Katherine Zdunic from the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions; Dr Sharyn Hickey from the University of WA; A/Prof Katarina Miljkovic from Curtin University; Dr Rory Donnelly from NGIS / EO Data Science and Dr Matthew Adams from Landgate. A common theme was a desire to ensure we have a sustainable future and use the data and information we have to protect our land and deliver value through Earth Observation… although for Rory, there did seem to be a linkage to cheese and wine that also supported his career journey through Europe.
Questions such as “What are the possible skills that people looking to move into the field should acquire?”, “What other data tools are out there (and how do I learn how to use them)?”, ” Are there any ethical considerations that users of earth observation data should contemplate?”,” How do we spread the awareness to the younger generation that it is possible to have a career in earth observation?” were answered by our esteemed panellists and our host, Prof Melanie Johnston-Hollitt who was also able to draw on her expertise as an astrophysicist and radioastronomy, with some insights into potential learnings and approaches for the EO community. The networking continued after and many were reluctant to leave.
A big thank you again to everyone who attended and a thank you to all our panellists for contributing their time to make this event a success! We look forward to the next one and encourage other local EO enthusiasts across Australia to connect with us and, where possible, host a local event as well.
