Blog by Ernest Mauya and Msilikale Msilanga
The increasing availability of Geospatial technologies and open data is making a global impact on Natural Resources Management and Conservation. With local talents, these can be turned into smart and impactful solutions in society. At the same time, the new generation in Higher Learning Institutions needs to master not only the data and the tools but also the elastic interface between technologies’ potential and societies’ emerging needs, for innovative and impactful solutions to Natural Resources Management.
This has been highlighted in the training that is conducted by Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) under the GeoICT4e project in cooperation with OMDTZ. The training is conducted for five (5) days with a focus on mobile data collection and QGIS for data visualization and mapping.
Furthermore, the training is being conducted as part of the implementation of GeoICT4e project at SUA which is a way to enhance Geospatial and ICT education for improved employability of young students. This training has been attended by finalist students from bachelor of science in Forestry and bachelor of science in environmental science and Management. Firstly, the training provides students with practical orientation to the use of Mobile Technologies with Open Data Kit (ODK) for data collection and secondly, the training provides skills on Quantum GIS for data visualization and Mapping.
