Why should you attend the AITPM National Transport Conference?
April 2024
The AITPM National Transport Conference is the premier opportunity each year for the entire transport and planning community to congregate to explore challenges and find solutions in our sector.
Co-convenors Fiona Goodbody and Manoj Barua are shaking up the traditional conference structure this year by creating a ‘campus vibe’ that encourages more interaction and informal connections. The theme is ‘Navigating Towards Shared Transport Goals’.
Regular delegates consider the AITPM annual conference to be one of the most valuable dates on their calendar, with its outstanding networking and career opportunities, as well as exposure to new research, technology, and inspiration.
Peter Malley is a senior associate in the traffic and transport team at Ratio Consultants and presented at last year’s conference. He says the event led him directly to a government body that needed his data and ideas.
“Honestly, 10 minutes after my presentation, I had somebody from Infrastructure Victoria approach me for a chat, and say, ‘That's fantastic data – we’re doing some planning, and we need to talk to you’,” Peter says. “The AITPM conferences start conversations about how we might be able to do things better.”
A former organiser of online conferences during COVID, Erin Thomas, who is a state sector manager for SMEC, says the conferences are particularly useful for emerging professionals.
“It’s very interesting for those of us who ‘grow up’ in the industry,” Erin says. “It's great to have a personal connection to people and then to continue to stay connected during the year – and then at one point you realise that everybody has very important jobs!”
Hans Gao is the chair of the Victorian Tasmanian Emerging Professionals Network, and last year organised the Young Professionals versus Industry Experts Debate, which has become one of the most popular events of the conference.
“I think emerging professionals have a very big role to play in conferences,” Hans says. “We are the next generation, and it’s great to have the opportunities to learn from so many industry experts.”
Aurecon Transport Planner Vanina Varnier has been attending the annual AITPM National Conference since 2017.
‘The best thing about our conference is seeing how other states and territories are handling different challenges,” Vanina says. “It’s also interesting to see how the range of topics change from year to year – it shows we are thinking about how to approach
social issues together with transport issues to create better communities.”
SGS Economics and Planning Chief Executive Alison Holloway, a keynote speaker at last year’s conference, has been attending AITPM events for more than 20 years.
“My first conference was a just a fantastic opportunity to engage broader in the industry, and it just opened up my ideas and networks,” Alison says. “I believe the AITPM conference is a great chance for people to step out of their day-to-day work and engage more broadly and think about the role of transport in the future of our cities.”
Registrations are open for this year’s conference in Perth, to be held from August 12 to 14, at Crown Perth and Optus Stadium.