2025 04 15 CAPG MEETING EAST ZONE
Minutes of Meeting – CAPG Regional Session (Australia–New Zealand)
Date: 15 April 2025
Time: 2:56 AM (GMT) | 1:00 PM Sydney time
Location: Online
Key Attendees:
- Roger Estephan (Chair)
- Professor Harry Poulos
- Boon Chia Weng
- Cholachat Rujikiatkamjorn
- Helen Chow
Welcome and Opening Remarks
- Roger Estephan opened the meeting, noting this was the first of two CAPG sessions planned for the This one specifically scheduled to accommodate members from Australia, New Zealand, and East Asia.
CAPG Website Update and Corporate Service Descriptions
- Roger reiterated the importance each CA to publish their company service details on the ISSMGE website under the Corporate Associates dedicated webpage.
- These dedicated webpages are designed to showcase each company’s services with external links and
- Cholachat ubquired about the format to be adopted, and Roger directed attendees to the website where some of the Cas have already published their company These can be used for benchmarking and would allow those who did not submit yet to follow any of the applied material content.
CAPG Global Marketing Campaign
- A major global membership drive is being prepared with:
- A finalized list of member benefits.
- An updated invitation letter.
- A target database of over 1,000 global companies.
- Outreach through member societies, website, and direct
- Launch is pending board clearance, expected by May or June 2025.
- The revamped website will be central to the campaign, highlighting CAPG activities, member services, and future
- Initial efforts to launch a collaborative technical initiative (e.g., survey) faced limited
- A new concept will instead highlight “Outstanding Projects” by member companies, emphasizing innovation and sustainability.
- Selected case studies will be presented at the Vienna Conference, with broader submissions showcased on the
Corporate Exposure and Bulletin Contributions
- Roger emphasized that corporate members can publish free advertisements or technical papers in the ISSMGE Bulletin.
- Professor Poulos recommended encouraging submissions to include project reports and technical papers to increase
- Roger confirmed this opportunity and noted an additional technical journal is being developed for corporate case
Differentiation from Local Societies
- Cholachat raised concerns about distinguishing CAPG from local corporate memberships.
- Discussion followed on the international exposure CAPG offers versus local
- The value proposition was framed as global visibility, access to diverse case studies, and cross-border collaboration.
- This differentiation will be integrated into the marketing
Structuring the Online Member Directory
- A proposal was raised to categorize corporate members on the website:
- By region
- By type of service (e.g., designer, contractor, supplier)
- The goal is to improve visibility, encourage networking, and showcase the full range of member
- Current member count is ~45; target is 100+ globally.
Heritage Time Capsule (HTC) Initiative
- Roger urged members to contribute to the HTC, a symbolic project to be sealed at the Vienna
- Contributions can include videos, technical papers, or project summaries.
- Only six companies have submitted so far; a follow-up campaign is
- Professor Poulos highlighted the historical legacy benefit—allowing companies to project their achievements for the next century.
- Helen Chow proposed offering online presentations focused on lessons learned from real-world projects.
- These would help engage younger engineers and offer insight into industry practices.
- Roger agreed and suggested they be included in the ISSMGE Virtual University or Interactive Technical Talks series.
Closing Remarks
- Participants emphasized the need to promote geotechnical engineering practice, not just technical design.
- All attendees expressed appreciation for the meeting and supported ongoing CAPG initiatives.
- The meeting concluded with a shared commitment to broaden participation and visibility.
