Locate26 publishes programme for young and emerging geospatial professionals

The programme for the Young & Emerging Professionals (YEP) strand of Locate26 in Melbourne has been released. The full-day YEP session runs on Tuesday 24 November, ahead of the main 10th Digital Earth Summit / Locate26 conference, and is aimed at students, graduates, early-career professionals and researchers.

The day opens with a workshop on building professional networks, followed by a mentoring session and a roundtable. A research symposium then features seven YEP speakers. Topics include protecting an endangered snake species from renewable energy expansion, dark sky reserve mapping in Queensland, machine-learning extraction of coastal vegetation lines in Western Australia, AI-assisted pedestrian network mapping, mangrove dieback detection in the Gulf of Carpentaria, and Sentinel-2-based wildfire modelling on K'gari.

The day closes with networking, free entry to the exhibition showcase and a welcome reception. It is included in full YEP and student registrations; standard rates apply until 26 October.

Why it matters: The programme shows the research themes shaping early-career geospatial work: AI mapping, Sentinel-2 analysis and ecosystem monitoring. Methods such as mangrove dieback detection and wildfire recovery modelling are transferable to African contexts.