TRAINING CENTRE FOR GEOMATICS 
- UNITING THE USERS OF SPATIAL DATA 
D. Radovan 
Geodetic Institute of Slovenia, Jamova 2, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia, e-mail: dalibor.radovan@geod-is.si 
KEY WORDS: Training, Education, Geomatics, Spatial Data, Organization 
ABSTRACT: 
The paper describes the establishment of a Training Centre for Geomatics in Slovenia which arose from a multidisciplinary 
environmental World Bank project started in 1998. At the beginning, the training centre has been covering the themes around the 
usage of spatial data in geoinformation infrastructure, real estate management, physical planning, environmental protection and 
spatial management. Potential users came then from local communities, state administration and private companies. Training 
programs included presentation, basic and applied levels and train the trainers module. Many different types of education forms 
including conferences and workshops were practised. The training centre established all necessary professional services for attracting 
and managing the users. Soon after the project ended in 2000, the centre countinued to act as financially self-sustaining successor of 
the project. Several new themes have been opened from then on; permanent education program for Surveying and Mapping 
Authority is one of them. Nowadays, the programs are addressing more than 2500 potential Slovenian trainees who need geomatics 
and geodesy at their everyday job. 
1. INTRODUCTION Beside general challenges by which geomatics is faced, such 
courses, especially in transition countries, should focus also on: 
Geomatics is coupling information sciences with geosciences. 
In the last two "digital" decades, the spatial data producing ereplacing classic (analogue) technologies with digital, 
sciences like geodesy, photogrammetry, remote sensing and eacquisiting digital data and amending their quality, 
cartography have found potential market for their products and edeveloping market in the field of spatial data, 
services in many fields where geolocation is of major edeveloping and supporting real estate market, 
importance. In principle, experts from that fields do not possess 
sufficient knowledge about spatial data that they use every day. 
Though, education in geomatics can help data owners to make 
their role more recognizable. In fact, education can serve many 
purposes such as: 
eaddressing environmental problems, 
echanging and accomodating acts and laws on related 
professional branches such as physical planning, real 
estate management etc. 
The paper describes the implementation of the Training Centre 
for Geomatics in Slovenia. Slovenia is relatively small country 
of 2 million inhabitants and area of 20.000 sq kms, which is 
also coping with too low critical mass of experts in many 
espreading the market by educating spatial data users, 
eoffering new competitive challenges, 
erising awareness about geomatics, 
eadvertising and demonstration of new products, professions, with geomatics being no exception. This fact may 
egaining bussines certificate, seriously hinder the development of the market of spatial data, 
eformal promotion to a new working position, lower the number of potential participants on the courses and 
esupport to execution of projects, thus endanger economic operation of such education center. 
etraining at work, The Slovenian case proves that those threats could be 
eintroduction of new legislation, successfully overriden with finding and attracting every 
e supporting state and local administration, professional branch which uses geocoded data. 
eupgrading managing skills, 
eacademic upgrading, 
texchanseof deus and experiences, 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE TRAINING CENTRE ON 
etraining new trainers. THE PROJECT BASIS 
According to that many different forms of education and In 1998, Geodetic Institute of Slovenia together with Technical 
training must be available to foster the usage of spatial data. University from Vienna, the leading Slovenian management 
Such broad scope of programs can not be offered by academic school GeaCollege, and private company DigiData from 
institutions nor by sporadic courses, for example offered by Ljubljana, started the project of establishing the Training Centre 
software developers and distributors. Obviously, the solution for Geomatics (Radovan et al, 2000b). In fact that was a 
should be permanent professional institution which would offer subproject under the umbrella of a broader multidisciplinary 
specialized courses systematically, and in principle on a market ^ environmental project named ONIX, which was financed by the 
basis. World Bank loan and by the budget of Slovenian Ministry of 
Environment and Physical Planning. The leading themes of 
ONIX were concentrated into four subprojects which aimed at 
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