Member Article

Olympic theme for Teesside conference

A conference which showcases the latest developments in digital technology in the construction industry is to have an Olympic theme.

More than 120 delegates from across the world are expected at the 13th International Conference on Construction Applications of Virtual Reality (CONVR), which runs from October 30, to November 1, and has been organised by academics at Teesside University.

Among the keynote speakers will be Jeremy Beeton, the Director General of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games who will talk about the lessons and best practices learned from the successful management of last year’s games.

The conference programme also includes a visit to the London 2012 site in Stratford.

Delegates at CONVR 2013 at the Millennium Gloucester Hotel in London will discuss the latest applications of virtual reality, augmented reality and Building Information Modelling (BIM) in the construction industry. More than 70 academic and industrial papers will be presented and discussed.

Organised by Professor Nashwan Dawood and Dr Mohamad Kassem from the Technology Futures Institute at Teesside University, the conference is now in its thirteenth year and is expected to attract people from as far afield as the United States, Japan, South Korea and the Middle East.

CONVR is initiated by Professor Dawood and since the first CONVR was held at Teesside University, the conference has travelled to Taiwan, Japan, Malaysia and the USA.

Professor Dawood, who will chair the conference, said: “The conference has really helped to create a sense of community in the virtual technology world.

“It’s created a forum where people from academia and industry are able to get together and exchange ideas and new developments.”

Dr Mohamad Kassem who is coordinating the conference, added: “This year’s conference is set to be a particularly interesting one.

“We are delighted to have a remarkable line-up of academics and industrialists to lead our debates and discussions.”

Other speakers at the conference include Professor David Philip, Head of BIM Implementation at the Cabinet Office’s Efficiency and Reform Group; Professor Anthony Steed, Head of Virtual Environments and Computer Graphics at University College London and Professor Raymond Issa, from the University of Florida’s School of Building Construction.

There will also be a series of break-out sessions and workshops which will run in parallel to ensure that delegates get the maximum benefit from the conference.

Professor Dawood added: “These conferences are really helping to nurture up and coming researchers in this exciting field.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Martin Walker .