IPP Presence in UK Space Conference
The International Partnership Programme was well represented at the 2019 UK Space Conference which this year welcomed its highest number of delegates so far (>2,100).
A 30-minute ‘101’ on IPP was held on the first day of the Conference, by IPP’s Head of International Relations, Liz Cox, who chaired the session and was joined by two representatives of the Forests 2020 project: Sarah Middlemiss of Ecometrica and Yakubu Mohammed of the Forestry Commission of Ghana. This combination of speakers facilitated synopses from a programme/project level and prime/end user perspective, providing valuable insights into the opportunities and challenges of delivering satellite solutions for sustainable development.
An IPP panel discussion was also held on ‘How space is enabling international development – from climate resilience to disaster response’. David Taverner, from Caribou Space, chaired the session and was joined by Alison Hall (Alcis), Yakuba Mohammed (Forestry Commission Ghana), Liliana Castillo Villamor (University of Aberystwyth), Prof Heiko Baltzer (University of Leicester) and Dr Gina Tsarouchi (HR Wallingford). The panel focused on the advances in satellite and machine learning technology that are enabling their application in a wide range of developing world contexts – including monitoring of refugee camps in Afghanistan and increasing yields of crops in Colombia and Peru.
The conference coincided with the launch of a series of reports which highlighted the impact and the value for money which the IPP programme delivers.