Review of InterMET Asia 2016 16-18 March 2016, Marina Bay Sands, Singapore InterMET Asia 2016 was the third annual event in the series and following the previous editions (2014 – Singapore Expo; 2015 – Suntec) it was staged at the largest venue to date, Marina Bay Sands. 2016 also saw some subtle repositioning of the event. Previously, the focus was ‘hydrometeorology technology’ (2014) and ‘hydrometeorology technology and services for end users’ (2015), while in 2016 it was ‘weather and climate services’ and ‘public and private sector co-operation’. Geographically, and largely as a result of the support of World Bank Group – GFDRR, 2016 also saw the event positioned as ‘The only meteorology and hydrometeorology event for Asia, Africa and the Pacific’. (compared to ‘Asia’ in 2014 and ‘Asia and the Pacific’ in 2015.) This repositioning is in tune with our overall view that InterMET should be an event that is primarily focused on end users of meteorological technology and value added information in the public and private sectors, whilst also acting as an informal forum to facilitate the frank exchange of views between the public and private sectors, international agencies and development banks, and the providers and end users of raw and value added hydrometeorological information. Also, the primary focus of the event is on those applications and areas which are likely to become more important users of meteorological technology and value added information as a result of the growing frequency of extreme weather events and climate change. However, looking ahead, this will not be at the expense of more established users of hydromet information, notably aviation. Some Testimonials • “EEC has been attending the InterMET Asia conference and expo since its inception three years ago. It is clearly the premier, must-attend event for all things hydro-meteorology related in the Asia-Pacific Rim. This event presents the perfect balance of technical sessions & discussions with a supplier exhibition. It is well organized, superbly marketed, and provides suppliers, like EEC, with the perfect venue to meet with new and existing customers, partners and suppliers in the region. We look forward to attending in years to come!” Richard "Sted" Stedronsky, Director, Strategic Business Development & Partnerships/Meteorologist, Enterprise Electronics Corporation • “InterMET 2016 was bigger and better than last year. I found the caliber of participants matched the focus for our own business, meeting up with peers from different regions helped consolidate our work efforts and provided insightful enhancements to our own existing domestic programs. Well done InterMET!" Jonathan Barratt, CEO, Celsius Pro • “The meeting was rich and very interesting for us. Exhibitions enabled us to establish many contacts with equipment suppliers. Thank you so much.” Cherif Diop, Direction de la Météorologie, Agence Nationale de l’aviation Civile et de la Météorologie, Senegal • “The conference focused to overcome some of the important issues in Asia that arises directly from the weather related risks and causes a serious threat to our society due to such catastrophic impacts. The advancement of new technologies in the thematic sessions further added new dimensions to overcome these real time challenges. All the sessions were very informative and meaningful. The panel discussions and interaction with the delegates & Speakers were great. It left us with a unanimous scope to meet the necessary meteorological requirements and start working on to overcome the associated weakness and challenges.” Anupam Kumar, Researcher, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 2016 Key Facts & Figures Overall participation: • 363 attendees from 46 countries as follows: - International 66% - 70% attendees are management with 39% at Director level or above - Scientists/Meteorologists/Specialists 16% • 49 Presenters • 29 Hosted Delegates • 50 exhibitors from 15 countries However, there is a clear need to address the gender balance of the event, in particular those speaking or otherwise contributing. Only a small number of speakers and other contributors were female (3 speakers and one NMHS representative). Sponsors • Baron (Hydrology Workshop, Weather Radar Workshop) • Met Office (Exhibition lunch area) • Met Services NZ (GFDRR Friday Session Lunch) • Leosphere (2 conference sessions) Official Supporters • Singapore Exhibition & Convention Bureau • Singapore National Environment Agency • Singapore Tourist Board • Hydro-Meteorological Equipment Industry Association (HMEI) • International Society of Precision Agriculture • World Bank Group – GFDRR • World Energy & Meteorology Council Event co-location This year, InterMET was co-located with Asia Pacific Maritime, one of Asia’s premier maritime events (2014 – International Water Week, 2015 – Singapore Maritime Week). Hosted Delegate Programme (World Bank-GFDRR and InterMET Asia) 25 delegates from 20 countries received funding to attend the event. 2016 Exhibition Summary This was the largest exhibition of private sector technology companies and service providers to date and the largest in the Region, with 50 exhibiting companies from 15 countries: • China, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Korea, Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, Slovakia, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States For details of exhibitors see Appendix 1 2016 Conference Summary 2 day international conference with the following themes: • Health Meteorology • Agrometeorology and Climate Smart Agriculture • Urban Meteorology • Extreme Weather Warning & Capacity Building • Meeting Customer Needs • Broadcasting & Meteorology • Maritime Meteorology • Weather Risk Finance & Insurance International conference Special Sessions in conjunction with the World Bank Group – GFDRR dedicated to: • New approaches to modernising NMHSs • Integrated Meteorology Technology Systems • Sustainability and Public-Private Sector Co-operation 2 Workshop Sessions hosted by Baron Weather covering (1) Hydrology and (2) Weather Radar. • The workshops were pitched at NMHSs management who are not technical experts with the objective of helping them better understand the purpose and capabilities of key hydro-meteorological equipment. Some Key Conference Figures • 108 people attended the opening keynote plenary session • Between 30 and 40 people on average attended each of the individual conference sessions • The Baron Hydrology and Weather Radar workshops which formed part of the conference programme were well received with each attracting approx 30 people • More than 70 people attended each of the GFDRR Day 2 and 3 Special Conference Sessions at Marina Bay and the Rendezvous Hotel • 2 workshops organised in conjunction with Baron (covering Hydrology and Weather Radar) each attracted an audience of between 20 and 30 people Looking Ahead to 2017 • Plan to address the gender balance of the event • We are exploring a variety of approaches to building the event and increasing its value to a number of new audiences, especially in the private sector • It is expected that the 2017 event will be held in Singapore • We hope to announce the date and venue for 2017 in the near future Appendix 1: List of Exhibitors Anhui WideSight Tech. China All Weather, Inc. (AWI) United States Baron United States Biral United Kingdom CAE S.p.A. Italy Cimel Electronique France Earth Networks United States ELDES s.r.l. Weather Radar Italy Enterprise Electronics Corp. (EEC) United States EWR Radar Systems United States FT Technologies Ltd United Kingdom Furuno Electric Co Ltd Japan GAMIC Germany Gill Instruments United Kingdom IBL Software Engineering Slovakia Jungsang Lidar co.,Ltd Korea Kipp & Zonen Asia Pacific Pte Ltd Singapore LEOSPHERE France LSI Lastem Srl Italy Lufft Mess - und Regeltechnnik GmbH Germany MBW Calibration Switzerland Met One Instruments United States Metasensing BV Netherlands Météomodem France Météorage France MetOcean Solutions New Zealand MetService New Zealand MetraWeather New Zealand Microstep-MIS Slovakia Mirae Climate Co Ltd Korea MPS system sro Slovakia NOVIMET France OTT Hydromet GmbH Germany Panasonic Avionics United States R. M. Young Company United States Radiometrics International United States Raymetrics LIDARs Greece RH Systems United States SAGIM France Scintec Germany Sea and Land Technologies Pte Ltd Singapore SEBA Hydrometrie GmbH & Co. KG Germany Supertron Sensing Singapore Sutron United States The Met Office United Kingdom TOA Systems Inc United States VAISALA Finland Weather Decision Technologies Inc United States Wx Risk Global United States