With the Federal Election looming, everyone’s focus is very much on Canberra at this time, but there is another reason our minds should turn tothe nation’s capital: The Young Statisticians Conference 2019 is just around the corner!

There is so much to look forward to! For starters, we are just delighted with this year’s choice of venue: Manuka Oval. With a rich and diverse history, stunning views across the lawns and being close Canberra’s popular restaurant strip Manuka, this iconic meeting place will be sure to impress.

As it happens, this year the conference coincides with Floriade, Canberra’s annual flower show - a colourful celebration of Spring.Click here to see what it’s all about.  Be careful though – there will be so much on that you may get too distracted from attending the conference!

The YSC2019 Committee is doing an excellent job of getting everything ready for you and they now have four wonderful key-note speakers lined up:

Teresa Dickinson
Deputy Australian Statistician, Australian Bureau of Statistics

Dr Margarita Moreno-Betancur
Senior Research Fellow, VicBiostat

Dr Felicity Splatt
Lead Consultant, Quantium

and

Dr Alison Presmanes Hill
Data Scientist & Professional Educator, RStudio

Alison will arrive a day early and present a pre-conference workshop.

Not coming to the conference? Don’t worry – you still get to participate if you want to. We are pleased to invite anyone who can’t be there in person to share their research through the YSC2019 Video Competition. This competition ran for the first time at YSC2017 and it was so successful that of course we had to organise it again!  Click here to see the winning entries from YSC2017. 

To throw your hat in the ring, just present your research in a three-minute video and submit the link through the online registration form.

For those of you who are planning to be there in person, why not combine your trip to the conference with a little holiday? You’ll have the chance to explore one of Australian’s most beautiful cities, and to experience Australian culture and history at superb monuments and galleries. Canberra is a city surrounded by parkland and native bush and Spring is the perfect time for a visit. If this hasn’t convinced you, Channel Nine’s “Travel Guides” might do so.

Some key dates to keep in mind:

Abstract submission closes -1 June 2019 Notification of conference abstract acceptance – 1 July 2019 Early bird registration period ends – 16 August 2019 Three-minute video competition submissions due – 15 September 2019 Conference registrations close – 17 September 2019 Monday 1 July	Saturday 1 June

See you in Canberra in October!

Marie-Louise Rankin
SSA Executive Officer