Worldsensing has successfully wrapped up their 2025 Partner Summit, an exclusive two-day collaborative event that was held in historic El Palauet – an impressive classic Catalan modernist building located in the heart of Barcelona, along the architecturally renowned Passeig de Gracia.
These iconic surroundings proved to be the perfect setting to receive members from Worldsensing’s international partner network, including leading experts from the mining, geotechnical, environmental, and civil engineering sectors.
With acclaimed experts travelling to Barcelona from around the world seeking to discover collaborations, present cutting-edge tech and discuss the industry’s most complex issues – the summit was truly a hub for unique and relevant global mining and engineering conversations.
The topics focused on over the two days by some of the most influential voices included the impact of geopolitical instability and climate change on mining and infrastructure strategy, through to the advancement and adoption of remote monitoring, as well as debating ways in which to close the knowledge transfer gap that exists between engineers and operations, and preventing engineering skill loss.
Day 1 ▪ The future of mining: a challenging road to navigate together
The first day began with a compelling fireside chat with Eduardo Bartolomeo, former CEO of Vale S.A., who shared his perspective on how geopolitical volatility and climate change are reshaping mining strategy. Climate change was a major focus, with Bartolomeo underscoring the importance of resilient supply chains and the growing role of automated monitoring technologies.
Following this opening conversation, a distinguished panel including Emma Fitzgerald (Newmont), Rohitesh Dhawan (ICMM), and Anna Carina Veríssimo (EIT RawMaterials), joined Bartolomeo to discuss mining’s future. Topics ranged from board-level governance and risk management to sustainability priorities and the integration of remote monitoring. Dhawan emphasized the ICMM’s work in supporting responsible mining practices, while Veríssimo presented EIT RawMaterials’ investment in digital innovation to help the sector adapt.
A key topic, which arose repeatedly throughout the summit, was the mining industry’s talent crisis. The ageing workforce, particularly in specialized roles like rock mechanics and mining engineering, presents a critical challenge. Veríssimo outlined how EIT RawMaterials supports educational initiatives to build a pipeline of new talent.
Tech at the forefront: automation and remote monitoring
Following the insightful perspectives on some of the most pressing and global challenges in mining, we witnessed a deep dive into remote monitoring with two spotlight sessions. Firstly, Worldsensing outlined their vision for the technological and strategic future of the mining and geotechnical space, and emphasized the essential role of its partner ecosystem in achieving scalable impact through innovation; ‘Collaboration is the biggest driver of innovation and growth’.
Secondly, Worldsensing explained where we stand today in the industry when it comes to digitalisation and remote sensing and what lies ahead on the technological roadmap. Worldsensing introduced their upcoming G7 product family and newly launched GNSS remote monitoring solution, their most advanced wireless sensor that measures ground movement with millimetric precision, including slope stability monitoring, subsidence tracking and structural movement detection.
Read More: Worldsensing’s Groundbreaking GNSS Meter up close
The day concluded with a special session on European innovation initiatives, focused on presenting the SEC4TD project (Securing tailings dam infrastructure with an innovative monitoring system). This initiative is funded by EIT Raw Materials – who also sponsored the summit and created such an excellent experience over the two days – and coordinated by Worldsensing. It aims to enhance the safety and sustainability of tailings storage facilities through a next-generation end-to-end monitoring system. Addressing the complexity and risks of mine infrastructure, SEC4TD integrates advanced IoT technology, automated geotechnical modelling, and smart decision-support applications to provide real-time insights, predictive capabilities, and data traceability. By bridging physical assets and digital tools, the solution empowers mining operators with a responsive risk management system.
Day 2 ▪ Engineering the next era of civil infrastructure
The second day turned the spotlight on the civil engineering sector, featuring a stellar panel of industry leaders who brought diverse expertise across asset management, geotechnical engineering, sensing technologies, and strategic project delivery: Stuart Hardy (Associate Director at Arup), Paul Ridlen (President at Knight Piesold USA) and Rob Talby (Geotechnical Director at Mott MacDonald).
After an interesting fireside chat of the impact of geopolitics and the changing climate on the civil sector, discussions opened with a look at how infrastructure is shifting from a “design and build” model to one that prioritizes full life-cycle planning and sustainability. Panelists discussed the systemic and cultural barriers to implementing this change and emphasized the need for digital skills development among engineers.
Knowledge retention was again a hot topic, as were the challenges posed by ageing infrastructure and rapidly growing cities.
Remote monitoring was positioned as a critical enabler for long-term sustainability. From enhancing real-time decision-making to supporting resource-efficient design, the panel emphasized how digital technologies can help future-proof civil infrastructure.
“Technology is not the challenge, we have the capacity to innovate at scale. The true challenge lies in accelerating adoption, so that the value of data is put to work everyday, not only when a collapse happens. This is a matter of education, and it’s a responsibility we all share across the industry.” Ignasi Vilajosana, Worldsensing co-founder and CEO
Real-world impact: partner success stories
A real highlight of the summit was the final session of the second day spotlighting three of Worldsensing’s partner’s success stories; real-world applications of Worldsensing technology in critical infrastructure and geotechnical environments. Each presentation illustrated how digital monitoring solutions helped to overcome significant engineering challenges.
These case studies, drawn from infrastructure and mining projects across different continents, demonstrated measurable impacts on operational safety, risk mitigation, and data-informed decision-making. The stories reinforced the value of collaboration between technology providers and local experts – proof that innovation works best when it’s built together.
Celebrating excellence across regions
During the Partner Summit, the achievement of standout partners was also recognized with awards. Under the category of Sales Excellence, four partner companies were honored for their contribution to the growth of Worldsensing’s ecosystem:
- Socotec in the EMEA region
- Geo-Instruments, Inc. in the EMEA region
- Geosinergia Ingenieria y Medio Ambiente in the LATAM region
- Specto in the NAMER region
- Tecwise as Fastest Growing Partner 2025
These awards symbolize more than sales milestones, they represent strong alignment with Worldsensing’s values and consistent delivery of value in the field. Honorees were selected for their ability to drive adoption of monitoring technology in their markets and for their role in building long-term trust with clients and communities.
Partnership will shape our future
At the heart of the Partner Summit was one powerful core message: Collaboration drives innovation and growth.
Every aspect of this event – from the presentations and panels to the networking opportunities – was designed to spark connections, exchange expertise, and explore new ideas. Whether discussing the digitalization of tailings dams, expanding monitoring capabilities, or enhancing the sustainability of large-scale construction projects, the underlying theme was clear: the future will be built through partnership – and that’s what the summit was all about.
Beyond the Summit: collaboration and commitment
The 2025 Worldsensing Partner Summit was not only an inspirational platform for exchanging ideas between global leaders and influential voices in both mining and civil engineering but a true call to action. It reinforced the importance of working smarter and more collaboratively across sectors to tackle shared challenges.
Worldsensing’s commitment to its partner ecosystem remains strong, and the company is already looking forward to further joint initiatives, as well as another opportunity to gather great minds together in the future.
Worldsensing welcomes partners from across the globe. Learn more about how to become a partner or stay informed about future summits and regional events here.