On March 31, 2021, Dr Zaffar Sadiq Mohamed-Ghouse has been conferred as an Honorary Fellow of the Surveying & Spatial Sciences Institute (SSSI).
Within the WGIC, fellow members know him as the Executive Director – Strategic Consulting & International Relations of Spatial Vision in Australia. Dr Zaffar is Chair of the Committee on Academia and Industry and also a Committee Member in the Policy Development & Advocacy Committee.
As the SSSI states, ‘Zaffar is a passionate member, dedicated volunteer and valued friend of SSSI. He has been involved in all facets of the Institute. He joined SSSI as a PhD student member almost 11 years ago, coming to Australia having worked at the Indian Space Research Organisation, and has held numerous roles including Regional Chair, Commission Vice Chair, National Board member and was our President from 2018-2020. He is currently the Company Secretary of SSSI’.
In his professional life, Zaffar has had over 20 years industry experience and is highly respected both in Australia and overseas. He has built an extensive professional network and is a member of numerous boards, technical committees and other professional bodies including the International Society for Digital Earth, World Geospatial Industry Council and the UNGGIM just to name a few.
Zaffar through his tireless commitment to SSSI and outstanding leadership and communication has inspired many and is in large part responsible for the increased growth in our membership and continued stability of the institute with a strong focus on core services and ensuring value and relevance for members has positioned the institute in much stronger position.
Throughout his term Zaffar has focused on his vision of collaboration and cooperation and building lasting partnerships with other national and international originations to strengthen the institute and position it for future success. He has worked diligently to develop a network of relationships fostering a cohesive and cooperative environment with key stakeholders which has resulted in a number of significant MOUs with notable signings including; Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC), Australasian Hydrographic Society, Association for Geographic Information (UK) and Pacific Geospatial and surveying Council (PGSC). These agreements will provide ongoing future benefit to our members through knowledge share and a proactive approach to mutual value. Zaffar has also worked closely with our young professionals inspiring many to become actively involved in the organization and mentored committee members and other volunteers, encouraging them to become involved in representing the profession.
He has also been instrumental in driving new initiatives and activities, constantly challenging us all as to the value and benefit we are providing to members and how we can continue to improve and ensure we maintain our focus on being the national peak professional body, this is clearly demonstrated in the establishment of new Special Interest Groups which include Disaster Management and Recovery and Spatial Digital Twins which are both current and very relevant to our membership and the contribution we are making to the broader community. And offer the opportunity to enhance and grow membership from these innovative offerings.
Source: sssi.org.au