'This year we hold the 7th conference in Edinburgh which is one of the most vibrant and interesting cities in the UK. Delegates can enjoy a wide variety of things to see and do both during and after the conference as Edinburgh's vibrant pub and club scene and its vast array of tourist attractions make this a city that is truly exciting and renowned world-wide.

The conference venue this year will be the Radisson Blu, Edinburgh which has excellent conference facilities and is conveniently located in the heart of Edinburgh city centre. Travelling to Edinburgh could not be easier: the international airport is a short bus or taxi-ride away from the city and it has frequent direct flights from Europe, Ireland and other parts of the United Kingdom.

In the current financial climate I know that all organisations and individuals have to think hard before allocating funds to attend conferences therefore our aim is to ensure that we provide maximum value for money for all delegates at IET System Safety 2012. With that in mind, our Technical Programme Chairs: Paul Caseley, Chris Johnson and Richard Piggin are working hard to put together an interesting and high quality programme and we already have some excellent keynote speakers and exhibitors lined up for you.

I'm delighted to announce that this year the IET System Safety Conference will incorporate the inaugural IET Cyber Security Conference to provide an opportunity for delegates to broaden their professional knowledge. There is much in common between the disciplines of Safety and Security and practitioners from each discipline can benefit immensely from an enhanced understanding of the other.

Indeed, the first (optional) day of the conference will provide seminars entitled: An Introduction to System Safety and An Introduction to Cyber Security to give delegates a chance to gain a good foundation in either discipline before the main conference begins. System Safety and Cyber Security presentations will be scheduled to enable delegates to choose to attend presentations dedicated to a single discipline or they can move freely between both.

As in previous years there will be lots of opportunities during the conference for networking with other safety professionals; in particular we have a Networking Event on the first evening which has proven very popular in the past. Of course no conference would be a success without the presenters and delegates so I hope that you’ll be able to join us in Edinburgh in October for what promises to be an valuable experience for all professionals with an interest in System Safety and Cyber Security.

Authors of accepted abstracts will have the opportunity to both present their work and have it published on the IET Inspec and IEEE Xplore databases.'

Carl Sandom BEng MSc PhD CEng FIET MIEHF
Chairman IET System Safety 2012