May Madness: Three conferences, one month
ALGAESYS Australia had the pleasure of attending three conferences in the month of May! It’s been a busy time, but these events presented ALGAESYS with the opportunity to network and connect with a myriad of people from all different backgrounds. Below is Managing Director, Soner Bekir’s recount of the events!
May kicked off with the Australian Water Partnership (AWP) meeting in Melbourne, where I attended alongside Engineering Lead, Rhys Gustafsson.
This was ALGAESYS’s first time attending the meeting, and for us it was more about understanding what the AWP is, how it works and who works for it. It was a valuable three days, with day one focused on training and days two and three more about traditional sessions (panels & presentations). We made some excellent contacts within the AWP and got to understand how the AWP is structured, what its focus is and how we may fit into that moving forward. All-in-all it was definitely worth the visit!
Rhys at the AWP workshop with Dr. Raj Kurup, Director and CEO of Environmental Engineers International Pty Ltd
After a brief rest, during which we could complete preparations, OZWATER’25 was next up in Adelaide. Not only was it Rhys’s first OZWATER as an exhibitor, it was also the first time he or I had visited Adelaide. Our head of Media, Jeff Atkinson, was the outlier.
Despite being on the other side of the world, my wife Conchita managed to make an appearance as the “poster girl” for female recruitment in the water industry. The event was well attended, and we had several good conversations with representatives of regional councils, water utilities and engineering firms. Additionally, it was an opportunity to shop around for water testing services, probes/sensors, tanks, pumps and valves. This was my favourite OZWATER of those I have attended, as not only did I get to visit a new city in Australia, I was also able to purchase much-needed products ahead of the impending go-live of our Gingin facility.
Soner at OZWATER’25 - and a cheeky Conchita ‘poster-girl’!
Finally, I set off to the Philippines for the Asian Development Bank Water Utility Forum in Manila. ALGAESYS was participating as a member of the Innovation showcase and participating in two “pitches”. In the first pitch, we presented our company and solution, while the second was more of a ‘shark-tank’ format presentation, where judges had questions and there was a more interactive feel to it. Both pitches went well and we had several good conversations on-stand with ADB Project managers, community representatives, utilities and other delegates, discussing a wide variety of circumstances where our technology could help.
The ALGAESYS stall at the ADB conference
The sessions at this event were all on point and based on real-world experiences in the types of terrains and circumstances in which our solution can excel. It was a fascinating event and an interesting first visit to the Philippines. Sadly, due to cost and time constraints, this was a trip I had to do on my own, but it was made somewhat easier by having one of our partners MMR also in the Philippines during the conference and able to arrange local meetings and a dinner while on-site.
Having completed May Madness and with June firmly rooted in Perth, the task of reaching out to all those people we spoke to at the various conferences is now beginning. It will be interesting to see how those conversations pan out and which of the conferences ultimately proves to be the most beneficial for us.