Ah yes, conferences. There are so many to pick and choose from – some are huge; some are small and personal; some are virtual; others require you to travel a great distance. Selecting which events to attend can be a challenge, but there are some great choices as we head into 2019. The following are just a few of the GIS/Geo events of interest that you might wish to consider attending in 2019.
ILMF (International LiDAR Mapping Forum) – Denver, CO – Jan 28-30, 2019
Held each spring/winter in Denver, CO, ILMF is the go-to event for all things LiDAR. ILMF is a technical conference and exhibition focused on surveying and mapping technologies including aerial, mobile, and bathymetric lidar, as well as other emerging remote sensing technologies. Take note and act fast, as the event is early this year! Additionally, ILMF is part of this year’s GEO-WEEK.
GEO Week – Denver, CO – Jan 25-30, 2019
Described as “a year of events in one week”, Geo Week is sure to be a very productive week in Denver. ILMF, ASPRS, and MAPPS have teamed up to bring you GEO Week. After kicking off with ILMF, organizers say “Geo Week continues with the start of both International LiDAR Mapping Forum and ASPRS Annual Conference on Monday, January 28th which will run concurrently with a single exhibit hall and inclusive social activities. ILMF will close on the evening of January 30th and ASPRS Annual Conference will conclude with post-conference workshops on January 31st.”
Esri Federal User Conference (FedUC) – Washington, D.C. – Jan 29-30, 2019
This year’s FedUC is really early, taking place in late January (recall, in years past it has typically been in Feb or March). This event for users, developers, partners, and Esri’s government clients covers all things ArcGIS + Federal Government. While at the event, attendees can learn what’s coming in the future, attend workshops, get hands-on-experience, and network with other “visionaries solving real-world problems”.
Esri Developer Summit D.C. – Washington, D.C. – Jan 31, 2019
Esri DevSummit has expanded to include an event coinciding with the annual Federal UC. This is a great opportunity for developers that are in D.C. for the big event to spend an extra day getting their hands dirty with the latest tools, APIs, and SDKs while also networking with other developer geeks! Attendees get the opportunity to dive into Esri’s newest developer tools, before anyone else.
Esri Water GIS Conference – Nashville, TN – Feb 4-6, 2019
This important event for the utility community will bring together GIS solution providers from all over North America. Every activity at the Esri Water Conference is focused on helping water organizations get the most out of their investment in ArcGIS. Be sure to follow @esriwater on Twitter to stay informed. Best of all for any country music fans out there, this one takes place right here in our backyard in Nashville, Tennessee!
Esri Geodesign Summit, Redlands, CA, Feb. 25-28
Esri’s annual Geodesign Summit will continue the conversation around a holistic approach to building smarter communities. Attendees include planning professionals across all levels of government, commercial firms, academia, and nongovernmental organizations that want to learn how to prepare for geodesign and support their agencies well into the future.
Esri Partner Conference (EPC) – Palm Springs, CA – Mar 2-4, 2019
EPC is an annual event put on for Esri business partners. This gathering of the Global Esri partner community is where partners can meet and collaborate with other industry architects, distributors, and the Esri management. Partner companies can get some face time with key Esri insiders and strategize on solutions and future direction for products and services. As a silver business partner, EPC is always an important event for GEO Jobe. Look for us in the exhibition hall.
Esri Developer Summit – Palm Springs, CA – Mar 5-8, 2019
DevSummit is always a big week for us, and our awesome crew of developers really look forward to this week of learning and geeking out with other developers! Why do we look forward to DevSummit each year? In addition to this being our chance to hear directly from Esri developers and software engineers, the week is also a great team building time for us, an educational opportunity, and provides some important networking. A little sunshine is always a nice bonus too!
Esri Southwest User Conference – Denver, CO – Mar 26-27, 2019
This year the Southwest User Conference takes place on the Colorado Front Range. Colorado- and Southwest- based Esri users and customers can take advantage of two days of technical sessions, training, partner spotlights, and networking.
FOSS4G NA – San Diego, CA, April 16-19
FOSS4G is a collaborative effort between LocationTech and OSGeo, powered by community volunteers: FOSS4G NA is an annual conference for people who work with, or are interested in working with, free and open source geospatial software. It brings together a mix of developers, users, decision makers, and observers from a broad spectrum of organizations and fields of operation for three days of workshops, presentations, and discussions.
TNGIC Conference – Chattanooga, TN – Apr 23-25, 2019
The TNGIC (Tennessee Geographic Information Council) was established in 1994 to improve the connection between the various agencies working with GIS in Tennessee. Look for some of the GEO Jobe Nashville crew at this event!
SSP iLLUMINATE – Denver, CO – May 6-8, 2019
For three days, SSP expert consultants will help you create, communicate, and champion your plan for the utility network. What is iLLUMINATE all about? According to our friends at SSP, “Attendees will see the first utility network migration and synchronization tool, SSP Sync, along with SSP’s ArcGIS Pro extension, SSP Productivity, which provides an intuitive and streamlined utility network user experience.”
Esri User Conference – San Diego, CA – Jul 8-12, 2019
The Esri User Conference (ESRIUC) hardly needs an introduction; this is the largest gathering of Esri users, solution providers, and technologists in the world. ESRIUC is a long, busy week on all things Esri and ArcGIS. Attendees can show up early and attend all-day training offered on Saturday and Sunday before the busy week begins. Throughout the week, there are more than a thousand hours of sessions and training! Special interest groups will meet all week long, and Esri partners and solution providers offer networking opportunities, meetings, and training. When the training and learning are done, attendees can spend hours in the massive exhibition hall to mingle with other users and meet industry experts and Esri technical teams. Pack some comfortable shoes for this one!
2019 Esri EDUC, July 6-9, 2019, San Diego, CA
The Esri Education GIS Conference is the premier meeting for instructors and administrators who use GIS in educational institutions. This year’s theme is “Digital Transformation Changing Our World”. The EDU community are HUGE users of Admin Tools for ArcGIS and we are glad to support and promote this a fine event that brings together educators that are promoting GIS best practices and geographic literacy.
FOSS4G – Bucharest, Romania – Aug 26-30, 2019
The International Conference for Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial changes location every year. This year, the event is being hosted in Romania. The annual FOSS4G conference is the largest global gathering focused on open source geospatial software. FOSS4G brings together developers, users, decision-makers and observers from a broad spectrum of organizations and fields of operation.
InterDrone – Las Vegas, NV – Sept 3-6, 2019
InterDrone is a three-day UAV conference and expo hall filled with more than two hundred unmanned system manufacturers and sellers. This event is all things UAV, sUAS, LiDAR, and more. Additionally, this is the largest commercial drone event in North America.
GIS in the Rockies – Denver, CO – Sept 19-20, 2019
Colorado’s premier regional event, GIS in the Rockies brings together GIS and mapping professionals from around the Front Range for two days. Historically, attendees have included representatives from local, state, and federal government, the utility industries, environmental services, land surveying professionals, the oil and gas industry, students, educational practitioners, and retail and business marketing professionals. September is a great time to visit Colorado, and this event also offers some good networking and training opportunities.
URISA GIS Pro, New Orleans, Sept 28- Oct 2
URISA’s annual GIS-Pro event is THE conference for GIS professionals, with offerings and solutions for professionals at all stages of their careers. URISA’s vision of fostering excellence in GIS, connecting people and resources in our geospatial community brings together an amazing group of GIS professionals at GIS-Pro to discuss challenges, find solutions, and network with the best in our industry. See you in N’Orleans!
Commercial UAV Expo – Las Vegas, NV – Oct 28-30, 2019
A popular, must-attend event for professionals interested in UAV mapping technologies. Sessions and training focus on 3D data, drone mapping, and related technologies. The education programs focus on UAS integration and operation in select commercial markets. In addition to industry-specific breakouts, topics will include workflow integration, security/counter-drone technology, IPP, robotics, UTM, LAANC, and more.
Mississippi Geospatial Conference – Long Beach, MS – Oct 10-11, 2019
This important annual event, organized by the Mississippi Association for Spatial Technologies (MAST), runs for two days. The Mississippi Geospatial Conference features networking, a social event, exhibitors, and a number of presentations designed for geospatial technology professionals, students, and geotech enthusiasts. MAST has over a hundred participants and members from a number of industry groups, including software developers, environmental technicians and managers, economic developers, facility managers, oceanographers, city and county planners, tax mappers, 911 Coordinators, GIS specialists, and more. This event is always a great chance to meet members of the Geo Jobe Center for Research and Engineering, as many of them will be in attendance.
GeoConX is a newly re-branded conference from Esri for those in the utility sector, particularly electrical, gas, and telecom. Esri GeoConX is the industry-leading event where professionals from Esri’s Electric and Gas User Group (EGUG) and Telecommunications User Group (TelUG) converge to network, collaborate, and learn as a larger, unified community. GEO Jobe was an exhibitor at the 2018 event
What events are circled on your calendar? Did we miss an awesome event here? Please feel free to comment or share your tips with us @GEOjobeGIS
We look forward to meeting many of you in person at an event in 2019!
See Also:
1,700 maps, 2,400 gallons of coffee, 105,600 buttons and, most importantly, 17,901 attendees! Thank you for making this the best #EsriUC yet – we’ll see you back here in #SanDiego in 359 days! pic.twitter.com/5YqCSQ14qf
— Esri (@Esri) July 13, 2018
