2021 – what a year! It’s been a rollercoaster of successes, steep learning curves, challenges and growth. If you were to tell us 2 years ago where we would be now, we would never have believed you.
We managed to pull off three excellent regional symposia between lockdowns and despite covid restrictions (summaries of each are on the following pages – thanks to the wonderful organising committees).
We have also appointed young professional representatives on the 3 international societies. Sarah Barret (International Association for Engineering Geology- IAEG), Romy Ridl (International Society of Rock Mechanics- ISRM) and Nima Taghipouran (International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering — ISSMGE) have been working with me to identify opportunities for co-ordination and collaboration across the societies to maximise the benefits for our young members. They’ve got some exciting ideas to bring to you in the future.
Miles Buob and his team have been working away at a series of posters aimed at entry level geo-professionals that cover the basics of a series of simple analyses which are commonly used. They are in the stages of drafting and reviews so watch this space!
And of course, Covid has presented its share of challenges with several conferences and events being postponed and/or cancelled. Our YGP’s tend to be social creatures who like to get out, meet new people and learn new things so it’s been particularly hard on us all.
I would like to acknowledge the hard work put in by everyone throughout the year, especially those who were organising and contributing to events which did not end up going ahead. Your work is appreciated all the same.
Looking ahead to 2022, we have a lot of exciting activities in the pipeline including the ANZ YGP Conference! It’s New Zealand’s turn to host and the committee is currently hatching a plan to make sure it goes off without a hitch.
As always – get in touch if you have any questions / ideas or are keen to be involved in anything YGP or NZGS. You can get me at ygp@nzgs.org.
See you all next year.
Helen Hendrickson
YGP representative