IEM confirms WTC2020 congress format
11 September 2020Malaysia’s Institution of Engineers (IEM) has outlined the format of the 2020 World Tunnel Congress (WTC2020) which has been transferred to a full digital platform due to safety concerns over the coronavirus pandemic. The decision to go virtual by streaming the programmes via a secured digital platform was taken in conjunction with ITA-AITES.
Authors/presenters, delegates and exhibitors will be able to log-in to the full digital congress platform (Congress, technical paper presentations and digital exhibition) from 14-16 September at https://wtdc2020.mego.events/
Although WTC2020 formally opens on September 11, the first few days will be taken up by ‘pre-events’ including ITACET training courses and the 1st Symposium of Young Tunnellers of Asia (SYTA). Towards the end, WTC2020 will also feature two general assemblies: the ITA young members (ITAym) General Assembly and 46th ITA General Assembly.
One of the highlights of WTC2020 will be a cross-discipline initiative landmark lecture given by Professor Charles WW Ng, of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and also President of the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering. Professor Ng’s talk on tunnel-to-tunnel and tunnel-to-pile foundation interactions is expected to fascinate the virtual congress.
Interactive sessions throughout the event will allow participants to pose questions and engage with speakers and presenters. And although fully digital, there will still be up to 80 exhibitors present, showcasing the latest in tunnelling technology via a digital gallery, complete with attendants ready to engage visitors in chatrooms.
An IEM statement said: “WTC2020 is a golden opportunity for the engineering fraternities in Malaysia as it brings our ingenuity and capacity in tunnelling to a global stage. Malaysia’s tunnelling icons includes the 9.7km, two-storey SMART Tunnel – the longest dual-function highway and stormwater drainage tunnel in South East Asia; and the impressive Kajang and Putrajaya Mass Rapid Transit lines. These projects have given birth to many tunnelling innovations such as the variable density TBM and the autonomous TBM.”
Further details of WTC2020 can be found at https://www.wtc2020.my
Registration is available at https://registration.wtc2020.my/
