UNSW Canberra Associate Professor Xiuping Jia has successfully led a bid to bring the International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS) to Australia in 2025, an event the University will be actively involved in.

The symposium is the flagship conference for the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society (GRSS).

It is aimed at providing a platform for sharing knowledge and experience on recent developments in the field of geoscience and remote sensing technology, particularly in the context of earth observation, disaster monitoring and risk assessment.

A/Prof Jia said it was a collaborative, multi-national effort to bring the event to Brisbane.

“The bid team comprised of three co-chairs and 16 organising committee chairs,” she said.

“It is an Australian-centred international team, including members from France, China, USA and New Zealand. We contacted relevant organisation and received 25 supporters from Australia and the Asia-Pacific region.

“We worked together with the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre and the Conference Management Service and submitted the bid together.”

A/Prof Jia said Australia has an active research community that pushes strong applications of geoscience and remote sensing across numerous fields, including surveying, mapping, agriculture, water, fisheries, energy, environmental monitoring and protection, disaster management, mining, natural resources, community safety, transport, and logistics.

“Hosting IGARSS in Brisbane will help to sustain the growing momentum in the Australian remote sensing sector and the space industry,” A/Prof Jia said.

“By hosting IGARSS 2025, we are bringing together researchers, from both university and industry, and end-user private companies to deliver innovative solutions to earth observation and make remote sensing systems more intelligent. It is a great opportunity to strengthen global collaboration as well.”

UNSW Canberra Professors Scott Tyo and Russell Boyce strongly supported the bid and will contribute actively to the event, with Professor Tyo chairing education activities and Professor Boyce promoting AI in space.

“Through leading and contributing to the planning for IGARSS 2025, UNSW Canberra’s active research in remote sensing and space development will be promoted widely, attracting more collaborations nationally, in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond,” A/Prof Jia said.

“I look forward to coordinating the strong and collaborative team to make IGARSS 2025 a dynamic conference with the best of Australasian knowledge, experience and hospitality.”