In the 1960-report there was mentioned for the first time that the ITC granted degrees
on a university level. Table 10 gives the list of all diplomas and degrees of which only the
B.Sc. and the M.Sc. are university degrees. Students accepted for an M.Sc. course in one
of the departments A or B on the basis of results of their previous studies either elsewhere
or at the ITC follow a special course and take part in several seminars and discussion
groups. The programme of the seminars includes also other than purely technical subjects
as for instance sociology and economy. The period of study for the M.Sc. is in addition
to the previous study at the ITC one year.
Table 10. Diplomas and degrees granted by the ITC
Period
Branch A+C
Branch B
Ph. Techn.
Phot. Eng.
B. Sc.
M. Sc.
Ph. Geol.
Soil Surv.
Ph. Forest
M. Sc. Geol.
1951-56
11
21
1956-61
36
78
19
5
9
-
7
—
Sept. 61 -Jan. 63
5
14
43
4
6
5
4
1
1963
11
11
18
5
7
3
3
CHAPTER VII. PHOTO-INTERPRETATION
The increased attention paid to this subject is apparent in the greater number of courses
organised in the curriculum of the Netherlands Universities on the one hand and on the
other hand by an increase of courses and students in Branch B (Natural Resources Inventory
using aerial photography) of the ITC. In addition, greater stress is laid on the combina
tion of fieldwork and photo-interpretation.
The main activity in this country has been the organisation of the symposium on photo
interpretation in 1962 in Delft with publication of the records of this as Vol. XIV of the
International Archives for Photogrammetry. The participation at this symposium was
beyond all expectations and was a proof of the growing importance of the applications of
aerial photo-interpretation to a wide range of subjects. Because the Netherlands Society
for Photogrammetry and Photo-interpretation is also responsible for the publication of the
technical report of Comm. VII we consider it unnecessary to enter into details about the
symposium.
In the following part some remarks will be made about the activities in this field in the
Netherlands itself.
Since a number of years aerial photographs are used in the Netherlands as an aid in soil
mapping, for forest management planning, forest inventory and for the preservation of
natural vegetation and wild life. A new development is the interest of archeologists in this
tool for their studies in the Netherlands and abroad (Sudan, Iran, etc.). Aerial reconnais
sance using small aircraft for archeological studies in the country was launched in 1963.
Systematic development of photo-interpretation techniques for natural resources studies
was a main concern of the ITC Natural Resources Department. The methodology of soil
mapping and of the related photo-interpretation techniques was a subject of special studies
of the ITC soil experts. The relation between physiography and soils proved to be of
considerable importance in soil surveys using aerial photographs as a basic tool. The
techniques were tested in areas of river sedimentation and of marine sedimentation in the
24