INCOSE Nederland - Grande Finale
INCOSE Nederland - Grande Finale Words: Jon Holt, INCOSE UK Technical Director
In November of last year - just one week after our own INCOSE UK ASEC - I had the pleasure of attending the INCOSE Netherlands SE Experience 2016, which marked their 20th anniversary as an INCOSE Chapter. The event took place at the Jaarbeurs Utrecht and, assuming that you are not familiar with the Jaarbeurs, imagine the USS Enterprise inside a big concrete building and you won’t be far off. This single-day event takes place every three years and they had a packed programme of presentations, workshops and networking opportunities. Joined by El Presidente Alan Harding, my fellow UK representative, we experienced a great day that was half in Dutch and half in English. Despite the language barrier in
some presentations, there are a surprising number of Systems Engineering terms that turn out to be exactly the same, with a slight accent. All the presentations were thought-provoking and very well presented, with themes of remembering the past, shaping the future, MBSE, transformation of SE, value management, skills development and case studies of a rail bridge, Schipol airport and the inner workings of the Vanderlande organisation. I was the mystery guest at the event and performed a reading of ‘Think Engineer’ to the 180 attendees to promote the INCOSE NL-branded edition of the book. The formal part of the concluded with some awards thanks for various INCOSE stalwarts. But the day didn’t
day and NL end
there! What better way to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of a Chapter than a mobile disco, mirror balls, flashing lights and some free drinks?! Overall, the event was an excellent day and both Alan and I felt honoured by the reception that we had and the hospitality offered by the whole Chapter. If you want to see exactly how to put on a truly memorable event, then consider attending the next one in three years’ time. I think that we can all afford to learn something from the INCOSE NL Chapter. They must be doing something right when they get around 30% of their membership attending! Overall, a fabulous event and many thanks to INCOSE NL for inviting me.
Jon Holt The venue was the ‘Jaarbeurs Utrecht’ - imagine the USS Enterprise inside a big concrete building 18
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