On a two-yearly cycle, CIGRE operates the world’s foremost collaborative knowledge development and sharing programme. Featuring extensive remote collaboration, coupled with periodic face to face events, in many cases including the participation of the world’s leading experts. This programme culminates every two years with the leading global event for power system expertise, the Paris Session.
The Paris Session
The Biennial Session is held in Paris, France in even number years. It is the number one global power system event in the world, bringing together some 9000 power industry participants from over 100 countries, including 3600 international experts and other decision-makers. This is a unique weeklong interactive opportunity. Over 160 working meetings, over 30 Study Committee sessions and 800+ technical papers spanning the end-to-end power system.
Conferences
Whether it is a round-table or a workshop, the Session’s Conferences are where the latest trends of the Power Industry are presented and discussed
Group discussion meetings
A unique opportunity to attend, contribute and absorb new knowledge. Each meeting includes a contribution process that allows delegates to become contributors. This works as follows: The 800+ Session papers are carefully analysed in advance by the Study Committee ‘Special Reporters’ and are then circulated to delegates. Before the Paris Session, these Special Reporters prepare a series of questions addressed to the community in order to stimulate contributions. The ‘Group Discussion Meeting’ of each Study Committee, managed by the Special Reporter, allows the selected ‘Contributors’ to present their point of view and experience, before an audience of experts. This way the collective expertise of the Contributors is harnessed to create new ideas that build on what the author presented in their paper under discussion. New ideas and knowledge are synthesised the following day in what are called ‘Daily Reports’. These, along with other Group Discussion Meeting inputs, form the basis of what the CIGRE Study Committees and their ‘Working Groups’ will focus on in the following two years. Following the 5-day Paris Session, the CIGRE Technical Council also meets to gather feedback and lessons learned, to define what preferential topics should be addressed in the next two-year time frame.
Poster Sessions
The authors of the 800+ technical papers that underpin the Session present these over several days in the interactive Poster Sessions. Delegates can hold one-on-one discussions with the expert authors. Moving from one paper to the next meeting the relevant authors in their field of interest.
Tutorials
During the Session each of CIGRE’s 16 Study Committees present a tutorial on a key subject area. These are highly informative events and offer delegates the opportunity to pick the subjects of interest and absorb the relevant expertise.
Workshops
During the Paris Session up to seven workshops are run on the salient issues effecting the global power system. These must attend events offer in depth technical knowledge shared by experts in their fields.
Technical exhibition
300+ international companies, technology and service providers typically exhibit their innovations, products and services.
Networking
Delegates are invited to attend events where they meet with eminent personalities of the industry. it is also an opportunity to get-together with their peers from all over the world and the networking opportunities are both unique and numerous.
CIGRE TV
during the event CIGRE TV presents interviews and interesting discussions available to all delegates.
