The Netherlands: Delft Software Days – Focus on Knowledge Exchange

More than 400 software users and developers attended the Delft Software Days (LINK maken), held for the second time at Deltares in Delft, from 19 to 30 November.

The number of visitors was almost double that of last year, with participants from 32 countries and representatives from 156 organisations, including many universities, governments, companies and research institutes. The primary focus during the software days was on sharing information about the software that Deltares, Unesco-IHE and TU Delft are developing in Delft.

Quality

During the many courses, workshops, user meetings and symposia, users and developers were able to share their experiences of using the various software packets and to pick up new ideas. The conference dinners provided an opportunity for informal networking.

Edward Melger, product manager at Deltares Software Centre, organised the Delft Software Days. He described the international interest in this event as unique. ‘There are participants from Europe but also from much further away, including Ghana, Hong Kong, New Zealand and even the Fiji Islands. That shows how much our know-how is valued internationally but it also says something about the focus and quality of the event.’

Daniel Niven of Cardno Australia confirmed this: ‘I’m extremely impressed by the high quality of the presentations. Now I understand why my colleagues who were here last year said we should attend every year.’

Flexible Mesh

Jens Krüger, from the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) based in the Fiji Islands, was also enthusiastic about the event. ‘It’s a useful opportunity to acquaint ourselves with various packages that are interesting for us, such as XBeach and Delft3D, but also to network. We are going to collaborate on a pilot project for D-Flow Flexible Mesh. This is still at the development stage and is being tested at various sites. Now we are going to take part too. The Pacific, with its steep cliffs and huge variations in water depth, poses a complex problem to modellers – an ideal place for the developers of Flexible Mesh to test the software.’

The 2013 Delft Software Days will take place from 28 October to 8 November.

[mappress]

Press Release, December 4, 2012