Highlights from our 2025 MBSE Symposium

Canberra, ACT – 29 May 2025

This week, MEMKO proudly hosted the MBSE Symposium at QT Canberra’s Eureka Room, bringing together a vibrant community of engineers, defence professionals, and digital transformation leaders. Representing MEMKO at the event were Ravi Jain, Brenton Dodd, and Beverly Witherby.

The purpose of this event was not only to share knowledge but also to support the growing interest and momentum in Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE)—not just within defence, but across the broader engineering and technology sectors. Since the launch of the Digital Engineering Strategy and Roadmap, there has been a renewed drive to accelerate transformation across defence. At MEMKO, we believe that in addition to knowledge sharing, building peer-to-peer connections and fostering collaboration is the cornerstone of a sustainable and thriving MBSE ecosystem.

About MEMKO

MEMKO is an engineering and technology company based in Melbourne, Australia. Established in 2007 with its origins in Aerospace, MEMKO’s services now span across multiple industries with a focus on Aerospace and Defence engineering using smart enterprise digital tools across the product life cycle management covering design, systems engineering, digital mock-up, simulation, digital manufacturing and virtual twin. MEMKO is committed to building the workforce of the future, supporting many research and university clients with a combination of industry and market knowledge. MEMKO also delivers training courses for continued education in aviation and aerospace, micro credentials for upskilling in digital manufacturing and official Dassault Systèmes software certification.

A Platform for Insight and Innovation

This year’s theme, “Embracing Change to Transform Enterprise,” focused on how organisations can manage and leverage change through MBSE. The symposium explored how MBSE supports complex decision-making, aligns policy, technology, and people, and enables enterprise-wide transformation.

The event featured a two-hour session of expert presentations, followed by an hour of networking over light refreshments and drinks from our open bar. We were especially pleased to welcome several of our speakers from interstate and overseas, highlighting the growing global engagement with MBSE.

Speaker Lineup

Dr Andrew Flahive – Assistant Director, C4 Design, Australian Department of Defence
Presentation: Australian Defence Force’s C4 Joint Force Model
Rick Ballard – Systems Engineer, C4 Design, Australian Department of Defence
Presentation: Australian Defence Force’s C4 Joint Force Model
Rob Starbuck – Senior Solution Architect, Dassault Systèmes
Presentation: CATIA Magic Roadmap and Cross-Domain Integration
Dr Gan Wang – MBSE Transformation Leader, Dassault Systèmes
Presentation: Global Trends in MBSE and Enterprise Transformation
Robert Ong – Director, Aerospace & Defence, MEMKO
Presentation: MBSE Adoption in Australian Defence and Industry
Dr Braden McGrath – Digital Engineering Lead, BAE Systems Australia
Presentation: Digital Engineering in Practice: Lessons from Defence Projects

Event Highlights

The formal presentations were followed by a lively networking session, where attendees had the opportunity to connect, exchange ideas, and build relationships across sectors. One of the most exciting moments came organically after the formalities concluded, when Robert Ong spontaneously plugged in his laptop and began demonstrating MBSE tools and workflows to a group of engaged attendees. This impromptu session perfectly captured the spirit of the event—collaborative, practical, and community-driven.

Acknowledgements

We extend our sincere thanks to Australian Industry & Defence Network-ACT for their continued support in 2025, and to our valued partner Dassault Systèmes for their ongoing collaboration and contributions to the MBSE ecosystem.

The 2025 MEMKO MBSE Symposium reaffirmed the importance of community, innovation, and shared learning in shaping the future of engineering. We look forward to continuing this journey and delivering even more impactful events in the years ahead.