QCon comes but once in a blue moon – and this year it's in Cairns!

The opportunity to showcase the best and brightest of the Queensland water sector in one place doesn’t happen very often but it’s here in 2022 with the coming together of the North Queensland and QWater conferences in Cairns in October. 

QCon, as it has come to be known, is an amalgam of AWA’s North Queensland and QWater conferences. It represents the rare opportunity to gather up the best the Queensland water sector has in one place to openly share both experience and knowledge to inspire new directions, initiatives and change in the sector for the betterment of the industry.

I have been involved in the organisation of both Queensland conferences since NQ Water in 2012 and every time we release a call for papers there is a little flurry of nervous excitement – will the conference theme and sub-topics resonate, and will we get a good crop of abstracts? The release of the call for papers this year was no different and the response was a resounding yes as over 70 abstracts were submitted.

This year’s conference theme is ‘Surviving, Thriving and Inspiring’ – three words that aptly reflect the path the Queensland water industry has tread in the last 12 months.

QCon will host 34 papers and seven poster presentations across two streams over two days. The conference will deliver content that spans a diverse range of topics including conventional issues such as asset resilience and drinking water quality; forward-facing issues like integrated water and resource management and digital solutions; and emerging focus areas like indigenous water stories and water business reform and resilience. View the full program.

A final shout-out to those that will be provided with applications for approval to attend QCon. I urge you to consider those that you will send to QCon this year, while it’s an awesome forum to connect with friends and colleagues, both old and new, it’s a legitimate professional development opportunity. There is surely a young water professional in your business that would benefit from attending this conference.

Please take the time to review the program, reflect on the content and get on board. I look forward to seeing you in Cairns. Register now to access the discounted early-bird rate!