Dear Colleagues,

This year’s symposium theme is ‘Sharing the Future’ . Certainly the world continues to shrink and budgets get ever smaller and it is imperative that we each share our technical knowledge with our neighbours world-wide. This will then enable us to combine our efforts in systems engineering to shape our shared future. To help accomplish this at INCOSE’99, we have expanded the number of tutorials from which you may select; we have designed the technical programme, with parallel tracks, that allows you to choose from a wider range of topics of interest relevant to the day-to-day performance of your job; and we have selected vendors to demonstrate and explain their tools and processes. This combination allows you to learn from many systems engineering experts and I am confident that you will be eager to share and spread new knowledge and experience within your company and with your fellow employees.

We are taking a big step forward this year by conducting our ninth symposium outside the North American continent. Last year in Vancouver, we had representatives from seventeen different countries. This year we hope to double that number. Countries that have not been able to participate in past symposiums will have an increased opportunity to learn from others by offering our international membership easy access to sharing in the knowledge of all. By sharing, INCOSE will continue to provide improvement activities, to expand these activities and to make them increasingly accessible to the worldwide work force.

I look forward to sharing the INCOSE experiences with you in Brighton.

Sincerely,

Kenneth R. Ptack
Litton/PRC Inc.

Dear Colleagues,

Our theme, ‘Sharing the Future’ , has been specifically chosen for reasons of timing, location and professional impact:

• Timing
, because in the last year of this millennium, our minds are inevitably turned towards the 21 ^st century and the new opportunities and challenges for systems engineering in responding to 21 ^st century society’s needs and aspirations for complex systems that work

• Location
, because the holding of INCOSE’s premier annual event in Europe lends a European dimension to the globalisation of systems engineering know-how and practice

• Professional impact
, because the increasing maturity of systems engineering has much to contribute to national and international co-operation and well-being.

Each year’s Symposium is different and 1999 promises to be more different than most! - a new continent, a fresh perspective and coverage of emerging issues. And yet, INCOSE ‘99 will be the same - the world’s largest gathering of systems engineering professionals, thought-provoking papers, up-to-the-minute briefings and tutorials, and a well-focussed exhibition - all providing opportunities for establishing new contacts and renewing previous ones.

If you’ve experienced the excitement of previous INCOSE symposia, you will want to come to Brighton in June for your annual rejuvenation. If you haven’t previously attended, please take the opportunity to come to this truly international event. In recent years the realisation has grown that the INCOSE International Symposium is a ‘must’ event for everyone who is concerned with systems engineering, from whatever part of the world.

We have a grand venue and a programme that is almost bursting at the seams! We have had more papers submitted than ever before. There is a larger number and a wider range of tutorials with half-day sessions on the first and last days of the event in addition to the full-day sessions; so you can now attend more than one! Please take a close look at what is on offer during the six days. We think you will agree that the whole event offers excellent value.

We are looking forward to welcoming you to Brighton and to an event which will indeed live up to its theme of ‘Systems Engineering: Sharing the Future’ .