RSGB 2024 Convention speakers
The speaker programme
We had a fantastic line-up of expert speakers to inform and inspire you.
Click on the links below to see what happened over the weekend. Some of these presentations were on the livestreams we shared each day.
Over the coming weeks and months we will be sharing some presentations for everyone to see on YouTube and others just for RSGB members.
Saturday’s programme
Sunday’s programme
Saturday presentation summaries and speaker bios
Sunday presentation summaries and speaker bios
Keynote presentation
“The future of amateur radio licensing and education”
by Rafal Lukawiecki, EI6LA
Although Rafal did an SWL stint as a teenager in 1980s Poland, he only got his licence in 2021, in Ireland. His reawakened enthusiasm for amateur radio, and his professional qualifications and educational experience, were quickly put to good use. Having helped the Irish Radio Transmitters Society (IRTS) prepare and win their latest bid for a new Harmonised Amateur Radio Examination Certificate (HAREC) exam contract, Rafal led the projects to modernise the Irish licence teaching curriculum, helped update the exam syllabus, edited and co-wrote the 400-page 4th edition of the IRTS Study Guide, and he started the National Short Wave Listeners Club (NSWLC). This is an online organisation that has trained over 360 students, of which 140 got their HAREC licences in Ireland in the last three years.
Rafal is also part of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Region 1 working group tasked with modernising the IARU Ethics and Operating Procedures guide, and he also regularly participates in an international amateur radio EMF oversight group.
Rafal is an avid RTTY, CW and SSB contester, and although temporarily off-air, he is still ranking 3rd in Ireland’s WARCA standings.
Professionally, Rafal has worked in IT all his life, having studied at Imperial College, London, in the ‘90s. As a data scientist, he focuses on making advanced analytics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence easy and useful for his clients. Rafal is also known for his work in business intelligence, data protection with cryptography, enterprise architecture, and IT solution delivery.
He has been a popular speaker at major IT conferences since 1998, and has shared keynote platforms with Bill Gates and Neil Armstrong.