Adelaide to Engineer Global Deans Conference

Adelaide has won right to host the world's most important annual engineering research conference in 2015 thanks to a collaborated bidding partnership between the Adelaide Convention Bureau and the University of Adelaide.

The prestigious 2015 Global Engineering Deans Council (GEDC) Conference will be held at the InterContinental Adelaide from 30 November - 2 December 2015 with an estimated 250 delegates to attend.

This event affords significant opportunities for Adelaide's universities and research institutes with the calibre of its delegates including the engineering deans (heads) from the world's top engineering schools, universities and colleges headed here including University College London, University of Notre Dame and Carnegie Mellon University.

During the conference, the eyes of the world's engineering scientists will be firmly on South Australia, giving the state's educational institutions an opportunity to showcase their expertise, achievements and offerings on a global stage.

Professor John Beynon, Chair of the GEDC and Executive Dean, Faculty of Engineering, Computer and Mathematical Sciences at the University of Adelaide said: “engineering Deans from around the developed and developing world will gather in Adelaide to discuss the education of the next generation of engineers. They will be joined by international companies and intergovernmental representatives striving to solve the world's shortage of highly qualified engineers."

The event was secured for Adelaide by the Adelaide Convention Bureau via its Conventions Adelaide ambassadors programme in partnership with the University of Adelaide. Previous host cities have included Paris, Beijing, Chicago and Buenos Aires.

Damien Kitto, CEO Adelaide Convention Bureau said: ''this is a perfect example of the incalculable benefit to hosting conventions in Adelaide. The events themselves may last less than a week but the benefits reaped as a result of hosting such experts in our city are enduring.”

David Travers, the Australian chief executive of world ranked University College London, and an Ambassador to the Conventions Adelaide Program, says it will be a unique opportunity for South Australian industry and researchers to highlight local expertise.

“Australia has many pioneering researchers working in areas the public would not generally associate the role of an 'engineer' with – nano-technology, computer science, biotechnology, plant functional genome, mineral particle processing – to name just a few,” he says.

“That means Australian institutions are doing important engineering things like breeding drought resistance wheat, making better pharmaceuticals, creating jobs through making mines more efficient and overall ensuring Australia stays a 'lucky country'.

GEDC

The Global Engineering Deans Council (GEDC) was established in 2008 when 20 deans came together in Paris and signed the 'Paris Declaration'. GEDC has now grown to include more than 125 deans from over 30 countries, five regional chapters, more than 10 corporate and other partners, with membership of all types growing quickly.

The Mission of the GEDC is to serve as a global network of engineering deans and to leverage the collective strengths of the deans for the advancement of engineering education, research and service to the global community. The four main arms of our strategic plan are: institutional leadership, curriculum leadership, policy leadership and accreditation leadership.

More background on GEDC can be found at: http://www.gedcouncil.org/