Engineers feel comfortable when there is established best practice, however in an evolving industry there are naturally topics where a range of valid opinions exist.With over 600 attendees from 34 countries in attendance, each of them highly focussedon engineering analysis and simulation, the NAFEMS World Congress 2017,which took place in Stockholm in June, provided the ideal platform for those involved in simulation to get together and explore these different viewpoints.

From the outset, NAFEMS identified a range of “Big Issues” that would be explored at the event. These are outward facing issues that will affect the way that software tools will be developed and how simulation is considered both by decision makers, leading organisations and regulatory bodies.

The April 2017 edition of Benchmark focussed on these “Big Issues”. The articles on these issues, authored by Althea de Souza, were based on input from prominent members of the NAFEMS community and industry insiders. The temperature of the simulation community on these topics was tested using a “Big Issues” survey and discussed in a series of linkedin articles. NWC17 afforded attendees the opportunity to hear the expert opinions that our keynotes had on these topics.