A new state-of-the-art geographical information systems (GIS) lab is to be opened at the Dublin Institute of Technology’s (DIT) Bolton Street campus as part of a collaboration between the institute and ESRI Ireland.
The GIS laboratory will be situated within the Department of Geomatics. This department (to be re-named Department of Spatial Information Sciences from September 2005) provides students with the necessary expertise of data acquisition and spatial referencing. Qualifications obtained are recognised by professional institutes and industry.
The laboratory will contain in excess of 20 networked computers with peripheral devices and overhead computer projection facilities and will enable the department to expand its range of GIS programmes.
“There is now an increasing trend towards the recognition of geographic information science and technology as a discipline in its own right, and complete programmes are becoming available at undergraduate level,” said Henk van der Kamp, head of the School of Environmental Planning and Management, DIT.
Peter Lyon, managing director of ESRI Ireland, adds: “Researchers and academics are using GIS across many disciplines to study the effects of pollution, transportation impacts, the spread and distribution of disease, the incidence of crime, disaster management and the monitoring of environmental issues such as flooding.
“There is a growing demand worldwide for graduates who understand the science of spatial analysis and through our involvement in programmes such as this one with DIT we hope to ensure that Ireland continues to provide skilled professionals in this area,” Lyon said.
By John Kennedy
