The International Geodetic Student Meeting (IGSM for short) is the international meeting of students of geodesy and geoinformatics. The 7-day conference takes place annually in changing mainly European countries. Behind the IGSM is the International Geodetic Student Organization (short IGSO), which takes care of the financial audit and the statutes (constitution) among other things. Many alumni (or also called seniors) are represented there.

My first IGSM was the 2021 IGSM Hannover, which unfortunately took place digitally due to the Corona pandemic. Due to their high commitment and dedication in preparing this online meeting, the student council of Leibniz Universität Hannover (LUH) wanted to hold a face-to-face IGSM the following year after all, but not alone. Due to the spatial proximity, a cooperation with the student council of the HafenCity University Hamburg (HCU) offered itself. Thus, the first cooperatively organized IGSM in the history of these meetings took place and the excursion to Hamburg was also fixed.

After IGSM Hannover & Hamburg 2022 I am glad to have been there this year as a participant of a presence IGSM and to report about it as a speaker of VDV. The IGSM 2023 Valencia took place from Sunday, July 02, to Saturday, July 08. The meeting was organized by the students of the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV).

Sunday, 02.07.2023

Before the IGSM started on Sunday at The River Hostel with check-in starting at 2pm, I already arrived in Valencia on Saturday. When I checked into the hostel, I was already greeted by the old participants, who gave me a very warm welcome. It always seems like a family reunion. The first evening was started in the hostel with a welcome dinner, which consisted of Spanish Bocadillos (a kind of sandwiches). After a few hours of the first exchange, they went to a bar to celebrate the reunion.

Monday, 03.07.2023

On Monday, after breakfast, we went directly to the UPV for the opening ceremony. In this event the conference was officially opened by the IGSO general secretary Tereza (Tess) Ivaylova. Also a few local sponsors and institutions introduced themselves and welcomed the students as well as seniors.

In the afternoon, we explored the city in small groups: The city rally was technically supported with the help of a location-based game. Only when you arrived at a station, an audio was unlocked with the help of which a subsequent question had to be answered. The question was mainly about the history of Valencia.

The second evening together is always reserved for international cultural exchange: International Evening. For this, the participants bring traditional food and drinks from their home countries. The Spaniards again presented very tasty food with serrano, salami and omelet. They also mixed an Agua de Valencia themselves. Finland, represented by senior Jamie, once again brought Mintu. The Viennese made Kaiserschmarn on the spot. From Germany, there were many different offerings due to the high attendance: Kale, Curry sausage, Helbing, Red fruit jelly and homemade Mexican.

Tuesday, 04.07.2023

The third day started with presentations of some participants. These can already be announced when registering for the event. A part of KonGeoS board presented their paper about the development of student and trainee numbers in the DACH region. Students from Warsaw explained about their project of a self-designed platform for underwater photogrammetry. A senior informed about stones located in Ireland and a database he is building for inscriptions of them. Another senior talked about his work as a surveyor with DEME Group, who specialize in offshore construction. It was a brief excursion into the subject area of hydrography.

Before lunch there was a poster session. Here topics such as Polish cadastre with Austrian influence and gravimetry were presented. In the afternoon we went to museums, among others to the Science Museum, Military Museum or Art Museum. Dinner was again at the hostel. The evening remained quiet for many, as an excursion was scheduled for the next day.

Wednesday, 05.07.2023

The excursion traditionally takes place on the middle day of an IGSM and this year led to the Túria Park. This used to be a river course through the city. However, it was decided at that time to reroute this river and to transform the old course into a park. In groups we went from station to station, where different tasks were set: Roll up tape measure, create equilateral triangles and many other competitions were on the agenda. Lunch consisting of Spanish bocadillos was served at the City of Arts and Sciences, an architectural landmark building.

We spent the afternoon together on the beach, where we could swim, play beach volleyball and enjoy some cold drinks. In the evening, we had hamburgers Spanish style, before we went back to networking extensively.

Thursday, 06.07.2023

Thursday morning was spent in various workshops. For example, the Spanish cadastral system was presented, where GNSS receivers were used to try to delineate boundaries. Handheld scanners were also used in a workshop on close-range photogrammetry.

In the afternoon, they met in a UPV game room for further exchanges with sponsors before heading to the hostel for dinner.

Friday, 07.07.2023

The last full day started with an Open Forum, where the participants discussed the future of geodesy with professors, students and Erasmus participants. Artificial intelligence in teaching was also discussed there.

In the afternoon the general assembly of the IGSO took place, led by the IGSO actors of the UPV. Here a lot of things were discussed. In the three and a half hours, the auditors of 2021 and 2022 reported on the finances of previous years. In between, IGSO treasurer Friederike Fischer from LUH presented the previous year’s balances. After Tess (UPV) also presented the current finances, the new auditors were allowed to stand for election.

Since the hosts for 2024 were already determined last year, the students from Sofia (Bulgaria) presented their current planning status in a presentation. Here, the period from May 12 to 18, 2024 was also announced. Afterwards, the students from Morocco applied for their country and culture to become the host in 2025. There were no further applications and after a few more questions were asked to the Moroccans, they were officially chosen as the host.

The final gala dinner took place in the middle of nature. In the warm Spanish atmosphere the last common evening was celebrated extensively. At a late hour, the LUH and HCU student councils began handing out the guest gifts, as is customary at KonGeoS. Interesting fact: Spaniards do not know limb scales. They were very surprised to see opposite scales on both sides.

Saturday, 08.07.2023

In the middle of the night, we took several cabs to the airport, because some of our flights back to Germany left very early. Thus, we had to say goodbye to everyone beforehand, which was sometimes very difficult. Saturday was then used in Hamburg for sleep before the last week of lectures started.

Acknowledgement

At this point I would like to thank the study program Geodesy and Geoinformatics HCU as well as the VDV for the financial support. It was an exciting time in Valencia. I always like to take advantage of these opportunities for exchange, not only on a German but also on an international level.

My thanks also go to the board of KonGeoS, with whom I was able to have constructive discussions. I was particularly pleased with the T-shirt they brought me from America on my departure from the Board. I look forward to continuing to be available as a consultant.

Zukünftige studentische Termine

• INTERGEO Netzwerktreffen am KonGeoS-Stand: 11. Oktober 2023 ab 17 Uhr
• 23. KonGeoS in Oldenburg: 19.-22. Oktober 2023
• 36. IGSM Sofia 2024, Bulgarien: 12.-18. Mai 2024
• 24. KonGeoS in Stuttgart: 30. Mai – 02. Juni 2024 (UPDATE)

This article also appeared in VDVmagazin 5/2023. VDVmagazin 5/2023.

Die deutsche Version kann hier erreicht werden.