NEW TRENDS IN SURVEYING EDUCATION IN ZAMBIA 
Aleksandra Bujakiewicz 
Professor, Head of Department of Surveying 
University of Zambia, Lusaka, 
Zambia 
ABSTRACT 
New trends in surveying and mapping technologies in African countries have required 
a course structure of undergraduate and postgraduate University programmes to be 
changed. The demand is growing for graduates to be skilled not only in traditional 
methods of mapping and cadastral surveying but also in numerical methods and 
applications software to meet the requirements of the new 
surveying and mapping 
technologies and in spatial data management for the support of land and geographical 
information systems. 
This paper gives a brief analysis of the reformed curriculum for the undergraduate 
surveying programme and the new developments in surveying, mapping and computer 
equipment and software which have been recently introduced at the Department of 
Surveying, University of Zambia. 
1. INTRODUCTION 
The development of African countries 
requires a great number of well educated 
surveyors in order to introduce the modern 
technics to all mapping, cadastral and 
engineering surveys. The new technologies 
had reduced the labour intensity of the 
traditional methods of surveying and 
mapping. At the same time demands were 
growing for graduate surveyors with the 
fundamental knowledge of microelectronics, 
sensor technology, computer science and 
software development to support the new 
technologies and for people skilled in 
spatial data management for the support of 
land and geographical information systems. 
The professional requirements for a 
surveyor have changed completely because. 
of the rapid advancements in electronic 
data acqisition and processing /2/. The 
process of implementation of the new 
technologies in the African countries is 
quite slow mainly because of limited funds 
for modern surveying equipment and mapping 
Systems, expensive application software 
and proper staff training. However, some 
funds for modernization of technologies 
are usually available from the external 
aids donated for projects of the national 
importance. Thera are some other reasons, 
such as an ignorance or relactance which 
restrain the implementation of the new 
tools and procedures to survey works. 
Therefore, there is the urgent need to 
increase the knowledge and interest of 
surveyors in the new surveying and mapping 
technics. Also with the new promising 
fields of applications, surveyors have to 
understand the professional tools and 
product requirements of experts from other 
disciplines. 
School of Natural Sciences and one year of 
General Engineering programme in the 
School of Engineering students can choose 
the Land Surveying programme as one of 
five engineering programmes. 
207 
Due to the fast change in technology, 
methodology and required products, in 
learning institutions in African countries 
are obliged to secure a solid and modern 
education for students by introducing all 
the new aspects of the changed 
technologies to the surveying programmes. 
The undergraduate Land Surveying programme 
at UNZA has been modernized since 1989 in 
respect to curriculum, equipment and staff 
training. 
2. THE NEW CURRICULUM OF THE LAND 
SURVEYING PROGRAMME AT UNZA 
The Land Surveying programme at the 
University of Zambia was established in 
1982 with the technical support from the 
Swedish International Development 
Authority (SIDA). At the beginning, the 
Land Surveying programme had been within 
the Department of Civil Engineering and 
since October 1988 it has been a seperate 
Department of Surveying in the School of 
Engineering. 
The Bachelor programme at UNZA takes five 
years. After one year study in the 
general, and also the requirements 
received from various institutions in 
Zambia regarding training of surveyors in 
the fundamentals of surveying science with 
understanding of computer skills and the 
structures of spatial data, the Department 
of Surveying had to decide to reform both 
curriculum structure and course content of 
the undergraduate Land Surveying 
programme. In consequence, since 1989 the 
Department has moved to introduce a 
restructured undergraduate course designed 
to meet those demands. 
Classifying, after E. Leachy / 3 /, all 
subjects of the new curriculum into six 
groups the results have been received 
which are shown in table 1.