SAE International is a non-profit educational and scientific organization dedicated to advancing mobility technology to better serve humanity. Over 83,000 engineers and scientists, who are SAE members, develop technical information on all forms of self-propelled vehicles including automobiles, trucks and buses, off-highway equipment, aircraft, aerospace vehicles, marine, rail, and transit systems. SAE disseminates this information through its meetings, books, technical papers, magazines, standards, reports, professional development programs, and electronic databases.

For further information on SAE International visit www.sae.org

SAE-Australasia has a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the SAE International which enables members of SAE-A to take up additional membership in SAE-I at a significantly discounted rate. For further information on this offer visit the SAE-A membership page .

FISITA is the world's only international federation of automotive engineering societies founded in Paris in 1948. FISITA is a charitable association, representing over 130,000 automotive engineers in 31 countries around the world, through its membership of national automotive engineering societies. SAE-A is a member of FISITA.

The role of FISITA is to act as a catalyst for the creation of efficient, affordable, safe and sustainable transportation systems, by providing a global forum for dialogue between engineers, industry, government, academia, environmental and standards organisations.

FISITA also provides global technical expertise to industry, government and academia on road transportation issues, advancing solutions, which promote safety, a better environment and the conservation of natural resources.

FISITA's principal activity since its inception has been the organisation of a biennial World Automotive Congress. For many years, the FISITA World Congress has brought engineers from around the world together in an atmosphere of cooperation, facilitating information exchange and technology transfer, and helping to develop automotive transport for the benefit of mankind.

In addition to the congress, FISITA works to support the continuing education and professional development of engineers, especially students and young engineers, through a number of initiatives including the International student exchange programme, the FISITA youth congress, FISITA student competition and Travelling Fellowship program.

The next FISITA World Automotive Congress will be held in Munich, Germany on 14-19 September 2008. For further information on the Congress visit www.fisita2008.com

For further information on FISITA visit their website at www.fisita.com

IPC

In the early 1970s, automotive engineering played an increasingly important role throughout the Pacific nations of Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Thailand, and Indonesia. In May 1973, the SAEs of Australasia and Japan cosponsored the 1st Automotive Engineering Conference (AEC) in Tokyo, which were then held biennially in Tokyo and Melbourne. These Conferences are the predecessors to the IPCs, which were organised for the fist time in Honolulu in 1981, after the request of SAE International to participate in a Pacific Rim Conference in May 1979 at the 4th AEC in Melbourne. Ever since, the IPCs have been cosponsored as a biennial event by the SAEs of Australasia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, and SAE International.

The purpose of IPCs is to create more opportunities for automotive engineers in the Pacific Rim nations to communicate their ideas, and exchange information and opinions concerning their latest technical developments.

IPC-13 will be held in Gyeongju, Korea from 22-24 August 2005. For further information visit the IPC-13 web site at www.ipc13.org