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EDUCATION IN GIS/ÜS AT THE DEUT UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
Prof.dr. M.J.M. Bogaerts
9.
Abstract
Since 1976 the Faculty of Geodesy of the
University of Technology in Delft in The Ne
therlands has an academic chair in Land
Information & Cartography. The education in
GIS/LIS is mainly based on an own research
programme in the Centre for Computer Gra
phics and Mapping. In this paper attention
will be paid to the education and research
programme. The main topics are:
- information policy, analysis arid planning;
- data in GIS/LIS;
- methods and techniques for data acquisi
tion, data processing and information sup
ply:
- applications of GIS/LIS
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 General background
In 1974 the Board of the Faculty of Geodesy
at the University of Technology decided to
modernize the curriculum. The main reason
for this was the increasing demand for more
information related to space, sea and land. As
a result of the discussions a new academic
chair in Land Information Systems was esta
blished at the Faculty of Geodesy. In 1976 I
was nominated to be professor in this new
field of science. In the new curriculum for
geodetic engineer in Delft, a lot of time was
intended for the new lessons in US. I even
had to realize the opportunities for students to
spend one fifth of their whole study time on
LIS. For me this was a very difficult task
because there were no teaching materials and
books. There were no international colleagues
with whom I could exchange experiences. GIS
was completely unknown at that time.
The only possibility to get my own teaching
material was to establish a Study Centre for
Land Information. Our own research program
me has always been a very strong base for
the education on a university level.
Around 1982 there*was a vacant chair in
Cartography at the Facuity of Geodesy in
Delft. This vacant chair was combined with
my chair in Land Information. The staff of this
new academic chair Land Information and
Cartography is a relatively large group of 15
staff members with another 10 people working
in contract-research. Because of the combina
tion with cartography, the chair is also cover
ing research and education in GIS. The
education and research programme of our
group at the Faculty of Geodesy in Delft
consists of the following elements:
1. information policy, analysis and planning
GIS/LIS;
2. data in GIS/LIS;
3. methods and techniques for data ac
quisition, data processing and informa
tion supply;
4. applications of GIS/LIS.
The Faculty of Geodesy is divided into 2
groups. Our unit of Land information and
cartography is part of a group together with
photogrammetry and remote sensing, land
use planning and land law.
1.2 Cooperation with ITC
Around 1983 representatives of the World
Bank asked us to start a course in LIS with
special emphasis on land registry for students
in low-developed countries. The reason for
this request was that some big cadastral
projects of the World Bank failed, because the
local experts could not maintain sophisticated,
automated cadastres. The solution for this
problem is to start international courses where
those experts can be trained. In the Nether-
lands‘wa were able to start such a course as
a combined activity of the International In
stitute for Aerospace Survey and Earth Scien
ces (ITC) and our group in the Delft University
of Technology. The LIS course, as it is called,
is a diplomcourse of one year. Four courses
