Darwin beckons!

If you have never been to Darwin—like I haven’t—you should follow my example and consider attending the AAIR Special Interest Group Forum in Darwin from 3 to 5 July. The theme for the Forum is ’Finding the eye of the storm in cyclonic winds of change’. It incorporates subthemes related to business intelligence (BI) and analytics, data warehousing (DW), load management and government reporting. It is being held at the iconic Charles Darwin University Waterfront Campus if you need more incentive to attend.

The program (or programme depending upon your linguistic persuasion) starts with a welcome reception on the evening of the 3rd. The keynote first thing on the 4th is from The Honourable Paul Anderson AO, Chancellor of Charles Darwin University. The remainder of the day is filled with presentations on BI, DW, data governance and load management just to name a few. Presentations will be made from colleagues from both sides of the Tasman. The evening culminates with a walk around the Mindil Beach Sunset Market and to watch the sunset on the beach, followed by the Forum dinner at Wharf One, again taking advantage of the waterfront. Friday is equally jam-packed and starts off with a session on government reporting from the Department of Education which, with all the changes going on in the sector, will be important to hear. Following that there will be talks on forecasting, something about data scientists actually being timelords, data lakes, feedback surveys and much more. Why not check out the SIG Forum program.

I have had the privilege to attend many SIG forums and annual forums over the years and I can truly say that I have never felt that it was time wasted, in fact, I have found the exact opposite. I have always found the presentations to be well thought through and insightful. I have also found colleagues to be very generous in sharing their knowledge, successes (and sometimes failures) and what they have learned along their IR journey. The networking opportunities often culminate in you making new friends. You will make connections with people with whom you can share your knowledge and ask questions. You could help each other solve problems you haven’t even encountered yet!

…and on top of all that, I have always found the AAIR forums to be enjoyable and fun!