This year marked the inaugural launch of Synchronise; a collaborative three day event by the National Physical Laboratory, Spirent and the Royal Institute of Navigation, bringing PNT to life.

Synchronise provided an opportunity for researchers, academia, early career students and SMEs to connect, network and share insights on the current and future landscape of ‘timing’ in Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT).

Day 2 was Next Gen Nav, our flagship conference for early career professionals including our elected presenters, pictured below.

We were fortunate to receive ten presentations from a strong cohort which meant the judges had a tough time confirming the winner of the David Last Tribute Fund. Pictured left to right:

1. Kieran O'Leary (Heriot-Watt University)
2. Sorin Andrei Negru, (Cranfield University)
3. Harrison Reeves (UCL)
4. Soujanya Syamal (Cranfield University)
5. Chandni Saha (Cranfield University)
6. Tarafder Elmi Tabassum (Cranfield University)
7. Agathe Bouis (University of Strathclyde)
8. Aamna Rehman (BAE Systems)
9. Emily Ellison (BAE Systems)
10. Abi Yetton (University of Surrey / SSTL)

Congratulations to Abi Yetton, PhD Researcher from University of Surrey, who won best presentation - pictured below with Alex Schofield, GNSS Researcher at Warwick University and RIN’s Early Career Network (ECN) Committee Lead. Abi will be supported to attend a UK major navigation conference thanks to the David Last Tribute Fund.

Alex commented: “I want to express my deep appreciation for all ten presenters today, both from academia and industry. Each of you brought unique insights, thoughtful analysis, and genuine enthusiasm to your work. I know firsthand how challenging it can be to pitch complex ideas to a diverse audience, and everyone handled it with clarity and confidence. A special mention must go to Abi, whose presentation was particularly engaging, being the perfect balance of depth, creativity, and clear communication. It was inspiring to witness such professionalism and passion across the board.”

Conference sponsors MakeSense and Xona Space Systems delivered two brilliant presentations and we’ll be learning more about their technology in the New Year - stay tuned.

Panel chair and ECN Committee member George Newton commented: “Fantastic to have chaired a panel discussing the skills needed for the future of the PNT industry. Great conversations around the blend of technical expertise, systems thinking, and collaboration needed to drive innovation in navigation, timing, and space systems.”

Panellists included Richard Burguete (Head of Postgraduate Institute at NPL), Raphael Grech (Technical Strategist (PNT Emerging Technologies) at Spirent Communications and CEO & Founder of Makesense Technology, Rob Quinn.

Jasmine Zidan, PhD Research Fellow and ECN Committee Member commented: “As the panel chair, I was delighted to see such a rich discussion around the many ways people contribute to the PNT field — from research and technical innovation to commercial applications. We explored the valuable skills that transfer across these areas, and heard inspiring examples of the diverse and sometimes non-traditional routes people have taken into the sector. It’s a reminder of how broad and dynamic the PNT community truly is.”

Synchronise concluded with PNT communication and training on Friday morning, surrounded by technical NPL demonstrations, and views out onto an apple tree grown from the pips from Isaac Newton's apple tree. 

For further information about NPL's National Timing Centre (NTC) programme and training courses, visit: National Timing Centre NTC - NPL

Looking ahead

Synchronise demonstrated the power of in-person networking and the value that comes with building one's professional network in our growing field of PNT. The RIN are preparing to launch our jobs board in the New Year (see here).

Please bookmark this as we'll be adding more roles and have plans to make this the go-to careers resource for the PNT community.

Calling all Maritime Operators and Navigators!

The Royal Institute of Navigation is launching a working group to investigate and report on the effects, mitigations and solutions to GNSS jamming and spoofing in the maritime sector.

We need your help in gathering the information we need to conduct this study. Interference have been pervasive for years now in areas such as the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea. In the Strait of Hormuz alone, almost 1000 ships per day experience GNSS interference, impacting crew safety and the security of their cargo. Collisions and groundings are a very real threat, with the Frontier Eagle and MSC Antonia accidents being the most recent examples.

For those of you familiar with the OPSGROUP report into GPS spoofing in the aviation sector  we will be producing a similar piece of work, but focussed on the Maritime domain. If you want to join the Working Group, and help to compile and write the report, we encourage you to do the following:

• join our discord channel
• share your insights by completing this survey

Please share this widely in the Maritime network - the more mariners we can reach with direct experience of the issues caused by GNSS interference, the better.

On 19th June 2025, the Royal Institute of Navigation hosted its Annual General Meeting on what felt like the hottest day of the year. Despite the warm temperature, around 130 members (and a handful of non-members) convened at the Royal Geographical Society to hear from RIN Director, Ramsey Faragher.

Following the familiar AGM format, a series of resolutions were passed including the election of two council officers:

• David Lindsall as Honorary Treasurer;

• And Marek Ziebart as Chair of the Remuneration Committee (pictured in group photo, seated, second from left)

Three members were nominated into council: Peter Douglas, James Foong and Tom Southall.

Ramsey reminded everyone of the RINs strategic focus, emphasising our status as a learned society to promote better education and understanding of navigation. He continued “we've focused on expanding support for our members—introducing a mentoring scheme for professional chartership and advancing diversity and inclusion through inclusive language; such as rebranding the Young Persons Network to Early Careers Network.”

TopNav 2025 Award Winners

AGM guests helped celebrate the winners of TopNav, RIN’s annual navigation competition for light aircraft, microlights, helicopters and motorgliders held each Spring and delivered by the General Aviation Navigation Group (GANG). This year's rankings were:

• Runners-Up: Richard Pollock, Paul Stafford and Nadir Miheisi

• Best Youth: Julian Robinson and Karina Swinhoe-Standen (group photo: front row, third from left)

• Overall Winner: Navigator: Alice Robinson and Pilot: Simon Cassia (both pictured front row, middle and third from right)

New RIN Fellows

Every year we welcome a new cohort of RIN Fellows and recognise their contributions to the field of navigation. This year, Fellowship of the RIN has been awarded to the following:

• Desmond Donworth - In recognition of longstanding leadership in new international training standards. standards and assurance (far right)
• Ivan Petrunin - In recognition of fundamental research in resilient PNT (back row, third from left)
• Phil Froom - In recognition of significant contributions to the deployment of protected PNT in NATO forces.
• Mike Knott - In recognition of longstanding leadership in maritime standards and improving safety at sea.
• Kimon Voutsis - In recognition of contributions to advanced GNSS testing to the RIN's Chartered Engineer mentoring programme (far left)
• George Shaw - In recognition of outstanding contributions to maritime navigation.
• Ivana-Maria Carrioni-Burnett - In recognition of a significant role as a Marine Pilot Ambassador and  notable leadership within RIN's Maritime community.
• Rui Zuo - In recognition of significant contributions to the development of LEO PNT systems (back row, fourth from left)
• Ian Herbert-Jones - In recognition of significant contributions to the practice and promotion of traditional navigation skills (seated front row, far right)
• Nigel Rennie - In recognition of longstanding contributions to the practice and promotion of astro navigation (seated, second from right)
• Ling Yang - In recognition of significant work in GNSS reliability and integrity theory
  
  

Honorary Fellowships

• Sir Peter Knight - pictured below. In recognition of an outstanding contribution to the field of navigation through a masterful understanding of both quantum science and government thinking.
• Kevin Mcgloughlin In recognition of a sustained contribution to the area of secured navigation and space security.
  

Invited Talks

Dr Todd Humphreys (pictured below) gave a brilliantly illustrative lecture which examined the motives, patterns, and techniques of GNSS spoofing, from the earliest controlled laboratory demonstrations to the most sophisticated recent manifestations.

Ramsey commented on Linkedin: “In my twenty years or so of attending Royal Institute of Navigation Annual General Meetings I have never experienced the entire audience gasp in shocked unison. The moment that Todd Humphreys revealed that a sudden reduction in GNSS signal quality had not just been detected at one ground station, or even just a local collection of ground reference stations simultaneously, but had in fact blanketed all of Europe - in other words, a satellite-based jammer had been detected.”

We were fortunate to hear from Professor Chris Johnson, Chief Scientific Adviser for the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT). He spoke about the importance of a thriving PNT ecosystem, essential for national resilience, and referenced our collaborative publishing of the World’s first set of best practice principles and checklist for resilient PNT for businesses.

RIN Awards 2025

 There were three recipients of the 2025 J.E.D. Williams Medal for an outstanding contribution to the affairs of the Institute:

• Tom Willems - In recognition of proactive, helpful and insightful advice and expertise to RIN to enable delivery of a highly-successful European Navigation Conference 2024
• Peter Chapman Andrew - In recognition of longstanding service as Director of the RIN, and significant contributions to the RIN maritime community and to the Royal Navy
• John Pottle - In recognition of outstanding services as Director, increasing RIN's influence and impact, including through the difficult COVID era

A new recognition for this year, Certificate of Achievement, was presented to Andrew Eccelestone for leading the organisation of the speaker programme for the Joint RIN/Royal Meteorological Society Weather and Sailing Conferences for the last decade

The W.G.P. Lamb Award acknowledges a contribution to a more navigable world by a younger person. Well known in the quantum PNT industry, this year's winner was Kieran Bjergstrom, in recognition of growing thought leadership in Quantum PNT and in driving collaboration and innovation within the PNT community.

The Spirent Sustainability Through Navigation Award for the application of positioning, navigation and timing towards a more sustainable future was awarded to Marek Ziebart in recognition of his outstanding contributions to space sustainability, and for advancing responsible practices that ensure the long-term usability of the space environment.

The final award of the afternoon was the Harold Spencer-Jones Gold Medal, in recognition of an outstanding contribution to navigation. This is the highest accolade awarded by the RIN.

Our President, Professor Washington Yotto Ochieng presented the 2025 award to Todd Humphreys (pictured above), in recognition of world-leading research into global GNSS threats, and pioneering improvements to the resilience of positioning, navigation, and timing systems.

Washington brought the AGM to a close, he stated “This is a very exciting period for the RIN – we have a bright orange future! I encourage you all to engage fully with your Institute working to expand our membership and championing any area of our activities. Heartfelt congratulations to those elected to serve in various roles, our new Fellows, new Chartered Engineers and all award winners. I wish us all a most productive, enjoyable and healthy period ahead, and look forward to reporting on further successes at the 2026 AGM.” Washington’s closing statement can be found here.

We’ll provide a full write-up in the next issue of Navigation News, our bi-monthly printed magazine for members.

Interested in joining us?

The RIN's activities cover the full breadth of navigation and precise timing, spanning land, sea, air and space and includes animal navigation, human cognition, navigable cities and buildings and all domains of the practice of navigation.

Please take a look at our membership page for more information.

AGM 2025 Photo Gallery - please view here. (access: rinagm2025) If sharing photos, please credit Royal Institute of Navigation and/or tag us in your posts