The NGS National Symposium 2018 was successfully organized on 19 November 2018 in Lalitpur (Hotel Himalaya).
Divided into six parts (i.e., opening program, guest lecture session, general/youth presentation session, special lecture session, closing program, and interactive dinner), the symposium success has encouraged all of us and has motivated everyone involved to have similar programs in future with even more energy and greater dedication. This symposium was a part of our plan to have one national symposium in one year! The next year symposium will soon be announced.
This time, we invited and encouraged young and student members to submit papers and present them in the symposium. There were eight papers in the general/youth presentation session, and the youth (under 40 years of age) presenters were evaluated on the basis of research content, slide quality, presentation attitude, and time management to select one presenter for the best presentation award. There were six voluntarily and randomly selected evaluators. We hope this system will surely encourage our young geotechnical engineers to make presentations in such forums.
The topics discussed in the special lecture session were probably of great interest to all participants. Due to slight time alteration, we had to change the presentation time from 20 minutes to 15 minutes which probably made the lecturers rush while presenting but all presented contents were perfectly delivered and summarized in the end.
The guest lecture session had one keynote on liquefaction resistance of Kathmandu sandy material, one invited lecture on tunneling methods, and second invited lecture on importance of geotechnical engineering in Nepal and for our mega projects.
In the closing program, we appreciated all lecturers by presenting a letter of appreciation and all sponsor organizations by presenting a letter of appreciation and a certificate of institutional membership of Nepal Geotechnical Society. The youth presenters were also given a certificate of presentation. Taking this opportunity, the President of Nepal Geotechnical Society also honored the society senior members by presenting a Certificate of Honor.
First and foremost, the whole team of Organizing Committee and the Executive Committee would like to extend their greatest appreciations for all your interest and support in the National Symposium held yesterday, the 19th November 2018. It was overwhelmingly participated by more than 100 geotechnical engineers, geoscientists, and individuals involved in geotechnical engineering. We were truly successful in holding the whole mass of participants from early morning to late evening! Thanks to all participants, presenters, sponsors, and all those helping hands who worked behind the curtain and did a truly exemplary work.
To draw the attention of the government, we requested Honorable Minister for Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation Mr. Barsha Man Pun to come grace the opening program as the Chief Guest. He kindly accepted our request and came to the program exactly on time, which helped us run the program quite according to the schedule plan although the opening program went a little longer than the planned. He has promised to help bring the field of geotechnical engineering in Nepal to greater heights. We will surely follow up and discuss how geotechnical engineering could be inserted into our policy issues.
Finally, this symposium has taught us a few lessons: Nepal Geotechnical Society truly needs to get bigger, to become policy influential, and to become more and more professional. Our all attempts will focus in these issues from now.
Thanks once again to the participants, lecturers, presenters, volunteers, and sponsors.
Thank you.
National Symposium Organizing Committee
and Nepal Geotechnical Society Executive committee