Sharing and cooperation in geo-information technology

Aziz, T. Lukman

Bibliographic data

Monograph

Persistent identifier:: 856479470

Author:: Aziz, T. Lukman

Title:: Sharing and cooperation in geo-information technology

Sub title:: ISPRS Commission VI Symposium, April 15 - 17, 1999, Bandung, Indonesia

Scope:: 1 Online-Ressource (130 Seiten)

Year of publication:: 1999

Place of publication:: London

Publisher of the original:: RICS Books

Identifier (digital):: 856479470

Illustration:: Illustrationen, Diagramme

Language:: English

Usage licence:: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Publisher of the digital copy:: Technische Informationsbibliothek Hannover

Place of publication of the digital copy:: Hannover

Year of publication of the original:: 2016

Document type:: Monograph

Collection:: Earth sciences

Chapter

Title:: WG VI/1: EDUCATION

Document type:: Monograph

Structure type:: Chapter

Chapter

Title:: RECOLLECTIONS OF THE TRANSITION TO GEOMATICS. Clive S Fraser

Document type:: Monograph

Structure type:: Chapter

Given this background, it is useful to look at the state of the Department of Surveying and Land Information in 1993 and compare it to the current state of the Department of Geomatics. This exercise, it will be shown, need not be exhaustive in order to demonstrate that the goals of the transition have in large part been realised. In presenting this recollection the author contrasts the current healthy state of the Department of Geomatics with the somewhat precarious position of the surveying program at the time of the name change. It is noteworthy, as well, that not only a name change was involved. The transition to geomatics included a complete curriculum redesign to better reflect the broader base of the geomatics program. Accompanying the transition was the powerful onus to educate the general public and associated professions so that the perception was instilled that geomatics was not just another name for surveying, but essentially a new discipline concerned with spatial information measurement and management, of which surveying was simply one of a number of components. The purpose was never at any time to diminish surveying, but more to better encapsulate the broader scope of activities associated with geomatics. 2. THE DEPARTMENT OF SURVEYING AND LAND INFORMATION, CIRCA 1993 After a reasonable period of growth in the late 80s and early 90s, the Department had the equivalent of nine full-time staff, about 180 undergraduate and 30 postgraduate students. In addition, it attracted grant and industry research funding to the level of $300,000 per annum. Although there was evidence that fewer graduates were entering the mainstream surveying profession, eligibility to become a Licensed Land Surveyor remained the only formal professional recognition for the degree in surveying. The degree was accredited by The Institution of Surveyors, Australia and by The Reciprocating Boards of Surveyors for Australia and New Zealand. Undergraduate students undertook one of three degree programs, a four-year degree in surveying (B.Surv), or one of two.five-year combined degrees with science (B.Surv/B.Sc) or arts (B.Surv/B.Arts). The combined degrees, although requiring both an "overload’ in terms of subjects taken and an extra year of study, were proving to be extremely popular. But, there was a problem: to undertake a combined degree the student’s entry score had to be very high (in the top 10% of incoming students). Surveying, however, was not drawing a sufficient number of such students. Hence the majority (approximately 70%) were only able to undertake the B.Surv. In order to rectify this situation, better student quality was a must. High university-wide entry standards also meant that many potential surveying students could not gain entry to the program. Surveying was in the unfortunate position of not being able to fill its quota with students having high enough entry scores. Poorer than expected progression rates and low course completion rates are a natural consequence of having a cohort of students who, when based on average entry scores, were at the lower end of the performance spectrum. Whatever the reason, such factors were drawing a good deal of concerned attention from within the University. The lingering question, which was fortunately not overtly expressed too frequently, was “if you cannot attract sufficient students of a quality demanded by the University of Melbourne, why should the University continue to offer the program?” Of course there were many good reasons to continue the program, yet these were increasingly losing their clout in the face of unfavourable statistics which influenced the program’s funding. The bottom line was clear: student quality had to improve, along with an increase in demand which would lead to higher student intakes. Although ongoing curriculum reviews had led to formal coverage of subjects such as GIS, spatial analysis, remote sensing and land management in the surveying degree program, it is fair to say that at the time it still had a dominant focus towards measurement science. Such a focus persisted even though developments in technology were changing the face of surveying at an ever increasing rate, and opportunities for graduates were emerging within the spatial IT sector. These factors were having a considerable impact on employment patterns for ‘surveying’ graduates. According to a survey conducted at the 1995 AURISA Annual Conference (Trinder & Li, 1997), close to 50% of graduates employed in the broader spatial information industry had received their formal education in ‘surveying’. The growth in the spatial information industry was fortuitous given that productivity improvements associated with new technologies were decreasing the need for surveyors, at the same time as a leveling off was occurring in the land development associated with the continued urban sprawl of major Australian cities. The combination of these and other factors meant that overall demand for traditional cadastral surveyors was diminishing, while at the same time new opportunities were opening up for graduates with skills in spatial information measurement and management. In a course promotions context the problem persisted that the general public (especially prospective students and their parents) associated ‘surveying’ with the diminishing opportunities of traditional surveying and not with the emergence of a whole new range of professional career possibilities in the spatial information industry. 3. THE GEOMATICS PROGRAM IN 1999 The picture in 1999 is certainly more positive in most respects than that of half a decade ago. The transition to Geomatics has produced immediate improvements in regard to student quality, and consequently numbers. The department now has the equivalent of 11 academic staff members, 9 full time research associates, between 190 undergraduate students (limited by quota) and 60 postgraduates. Moreover, the annual research budget is now close to $ 1.1 million. One of the features of the postgraduate student body is that the majority of students have a first degree other than geomatics. This is a reasonable indicator that the Department’s efforts to broaden its research focus to embrace new developments in spatial information are paying off.

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