GEO Business – the UK’s leading event for the geospatial community – has launched its programme in the lead up to the 2023 event, taking place from 17-18 May at ExCeL London.

The CPD-accredited education programme at GEO Business is designed to keep visitors at the cutting-edge of geospatial technology.

The show features six theatres that focus on some of the key applications of geospatial, including infrastructure, transport, utilities and energy, land and natural resource management, and the built environment.

Visitors can choose from 120+ free-to-attend talks, workshops and demos delivered by expert speakers from across the profession. Gaining actionable insights, data-driven knowledge and practical advice from thought-leaders in the field.

Keep reading for a look at each of the theatres, plus a taster of the speakers stepping on stage at this year’s show.

Built Environment Stage

The Built Environment Stage will explore the applications of geospatial technologies and processes for the architecture, construction, and engineering sector (AEC). Visitors can expect a series of presentations and panel sessions covering a range of hot topics. This includes the role of GIS alongside BIM, digital twins, smart cities, and how the geospatial profession can help construction stay ahead of the game.

Using GIS dashboards to track progress of construction activities will explore the importance of implementing and following a robust set of rules and standards to facilitate automation of data interoperability workflows. This session will be presented by David Gonzalez, GIS Analyst, and Daniel Jimenez, GIS Manager, at Align JV.

Global Head of Digital Twin at Wood, David Fletcher, will discuss Asset digitisation and the development of a digital twin, a new innovative approach from Wood that offers potential benefits for decision-making, operational efficiency, and innovation. The session will provide practical insights and case studies to demonstrate its successful implementation.

Surveying & Mapping Stage

The Surveying and Mapping Stage is at the heart of GEO Business. This theatre will look at the role of surveyors and the future of the profession. Expect best practice, case studies, and technology focused sessions to help improve the way you work and win work.

Louise Hilder, Director at Cheshire Surveys, will present Unlocking the skills of the geospatial profession – The tale of a town planner 'abroad' integrating and developing the two professions. She will cover the benefits of recruiting from other professions to help grown and expand skill sets in a geospatial business, provide tips for how geospatial surveyors can evolve and develop their skill sets to meet changing demands, and more.

How do you solve the problem that scale factors cause engineering projects when they are inherent to map projections? This is an issue that Network Rail posed 18 years ago, and in collaboration with UCL, the SnakeGrid concept has since come to fruition. Find out more about this solution and the efficiencies it has helped realise at all phases of a project/asset lifecycle in SnakeGrid – Beyond railways, presented by a panel of speakers including Chris Preston, Head of Survey at Network Rail; Dave Dampier, Technical Manager at Severn Partnership; Dr. Jonathan Iliffe, Honorary Associate Professor at UCL; and Richard Day, Principal Geospatial Analyst at Severn Partnership.

Land & Natural Resource Stage

This is the ideal stage for those who are interested in the role of geospatial technologies and information in the field of land and natural resource management. This theatre will have a strong sustainability focus, so be sure to take advantage of the sessions to learn about the role you can play within the net zero agenda. Sessions and discussions will also look at coastal, inshore and marine applications, forestry, oil and gas, agriculture and land management.

Arup’s Director, Richard Alexander, will outline how Arup are using earth observation to answer their clients’ needs in the natural environment. The session Earth observation and nature will include a case study on utilising earth observation data on the ecology element of a major infrastructure project, the challenges and how the company are working to continue to drive innovation.

Dr. Pooja Mahapatra, Global Lead – Geospatial for Climate at Fugro, will discuss lessons learned from working with large organisations/governments in Climate change and sea-level rise: A global problem with local urgency. She will also touch on real applications of geospatial to climate change adaptation and how to choose the right data for the problem at hand.

Applied spatial data management will be covered in Digital biodiversity management: GIS support for calculating and reporting Biodiversity Net Gain scores. Dr. Katie Dawson, GIS Lead – Environment at Costain Group, will present a practical example of biodiversity net gain and highlight the importance of geospatial support for this.

Infrastructure Stage

Expect sessions on major projects and from clients on this stage, exploring the applications of geospatial technologies and processes across major infrastructure. This encompasses roads, rail, tunnelling, energy and utilities projects. Speakers will focus on the tools and data that are being collected and utilised, from a wide range of perspectives such as location, population, and environment. Delving further into their influence on the construction and operation of these assets and the role you play in their lifecycle. 

Manholes and monitors: The power of geospatial to place smart sensors in the RIGHT place will be hosted by Vida Williams, Technical Director – Geospatial and Robert Giesler, Geospatial Developer from Jacobs. Visitors will learn how to consider the end user in the development processes, the importance of data management and training for all users, tips and tricks for dealing with very large (editable) data sets in an GIS environment and how SQL can (sometimes) save the day.

NUAR user research methodologies will be presented by Atkins’ Angus Kelly, who is working on behalf of the Geospatial Commission as User Research Lead for the National Underground Asset Register (NUAR). The session will cover how the NUAR has been shaped by user feedback throughout each phase of its development and look forward at the next stage of the platform’s refinement.