Geospatial leader, Prof Dr Zaffar Sadiq Mohamed-Ghouse, recognised for a career of collaboration, innovation and mentorship
Prof Dr Zaffar Sadiq Mohamed-Ghouse, Vice President and Director Advisory & Innovation at Woolpert has been recognised with one of the Australian geospatial sector’s highest honours, receiving the 2025 Peter Woodgate Award for his outstanding contributions to the geospatial community.
Jointly presented by AURIN and the Geospatial Council of Australia, the award honours the late Peter Woodgate, a pioneer in geospatial science who served as the AURIN Board Chair and President of the Geospatial Council for many years. The award celebrates individuals who embody the values championed by Peter throughout his career: leadership, collaboration, mentorship and innovation.
For more than two decades, Zaffar has helped shape geospatial science in Australia and internationally by building partnerships, championing new ideas and investing in the next generation of professionals.
“This award is very special to me, as it is named after my guide, friend, and philosopher, Dr Peter Woodgate. I deem it a great privilege and honour to be the third recipient of this prestigious award. The recognition motivates me to contribute more to the Geospatial Community and continue Dr Woodgate’s legacy.” Zaffar said.
A passionate collaborator, Zaffar has forged strong relationships between Australian and international geospatial organisations.
He established the Memoranda of Understanding between the Surveying and Spatial Sciences Institute (SSSI) and the Association of Geospatial Industries (UK), the International Society for Digital Earth (China), Open Geospatial Consortium and the ASEAN Federation of Land Surveying and Geomatics. He played a key role in bringing major international events, such as the Locate conference series, to Australia and successfully led the Locate Conference Australia as Chair and Vice-Chair of the Board. He has also fostered collaboration through high-level delegation visits from across the Asia-Pacific and the Middle East. He is also senior adviser to the SmartsatCRC for international collaboration for downstream Space sector.
Mentorship has also been a defining feature of Zaffar’s career, having mentored countless emerging professionals. He established the inaugural SSSI Program in 2009–10, laying the foundation for what has become a successful national and international initiative. He regularly mentors PhD Students and early career researchers of Industry Mentoring Network in STEM (IMNIS) initiative of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences & Engineering (ATSE)
Zaffar is internationally acknowledged for pioneering the ‘Future of Geospatial Ecosystem’ concept and continues to lead programs that help governments adopt modern geospatial frameworks including the United Nations – Integrated Geospatial Information Framework (UN-IGIF) while contributing to international standards, policy development and research collaborations. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Geospatial Council of Australia, a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, UK, a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers, Australia and recently conferred National Geospatial Professional Fellow (Overseas Citizen of India), conferred by IIT Bombay.
He co-founded the Private Sector Network of the United Nations Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM) and played a crucial role in developing the Geospatial Knowledge Infrastructure (GKI) program, in collaboration with the United Nations Statistics Division and Geospatial World, serves on the Board of the Open Geospatial Consortium and Programme Board of Group of Earth Observation
While these achievements represent only a snapshot of Zaffar’s long track record, they reflect the qualities that the Peter Woodgate Award seeks to recognise.
Director of AURIN, Pascal Perez, said Zaffar’s recognition is well-deserved.
“Peter Woodgate was a trailblazer for Australia’s Space and Spatial Information industries, with unwavering enthusiasm and ambition. As a champion of geospatial science, Zaffar embodies many of the qualities that Peter stood for, and AURIN is pleased to present this award to him as a truly deserving recipient,” Pascal said.