Connections Australia 2015

I received an email today from Todd Mason, one of the organisers of Connections Australia 2015 conference. (The other two organisers are Mariana Zafeirakopoulos and Marcus Carter.) The event will be held in the Steve Howard Lecture Theatre, Interaction Design Lab, Level 5, Doug McDonell Building, at the University of Melbourne on the 14th and 15th December 2015.

The program looks like this:

14th December

10.00 – 11.00: Session 1: State of Play

• Connections International: Rex Brynen (McGill University)
• MORS Professional Wargaming Initiative: Marcus Tregenza (Land Simulation, Experimentation and Wargaming, Defence Science and Technology Group)
• Emergency Management COA Planning: Dereck Chong (University of Melbourne)

11.00 – 11.30: Break

11.30 – 13.30: Session 2: Computer Simulation

• Defence Experimentation and Wargaming: Marcus Tregenza (Land Simulation, Experimentation and Wargaming, Defence Science and Technology Group)
• Emerging Technology: Marcus Carter (University of Melbourne)
• Virtual Paramedic: Justin Dunlop (Ambulance Victoria)
• Visualisation of Natural Disasters: Mahesh Prakash (CSIRO)

13.30 – 14.30: Lunch

14.30 – 16.00: Session 3: Board and Map Games

• Aftershock: A Humanitarian Crisis Game: Rex Brynen (McGill University)
• State Library of Victoria – Chess Collection: Jan McDonald (State Library of Victoria)
• Gallipoli Map Kriegsspiel: Roger Lee (Army History Unit)

16.00 – 16.30: Break

16.30 – 18.00: Session 4: Human Dimensions

• Emergo Train: Emergency Response Training: Ambulance Victoria
• Human Factors in Games: Peter Hayes
• Bringing Wargaming into the Boardroom: Paul Fitton

19 00 onwards: Dinner

15th December

09.00 – 10.30: Session 1a

• Isis crisis Matrix Game COA gaming (DSTG)

10.30 – 11.00: Break

11.00 – 12.30: Session 1b

• Isis crisis Matrix Game COA gaming (DSTG)

12.30 – 13.30: Lunch

13.30 – 15.00: Session 2a

• Aftershock Game Development Workshop (based on last year's activity)

15 00 – 15.30: Break

15.30 – 17.00: Session 2b

• Aftershock Game Development Workshop (based on last year's activity)

This looks like it is going to be a very interesting conference, and I really regret not being able to go.

If any of my regular blog readers who live in Australia are interested in going, I understand that you can register via Eventbrite. According to the information on the Connections Australia webpage:

'There will be no cost for conference attendance, however a gold coin donation to cover tea and coffee would be appreciated. No meals will be provided (other than coffee, tea and biscuits etc.).'

That sounds very reasonable to me!