Several factors have been militating against the progress of Geomatics education worldwide. They include, but are not limited to, the nature of adequate student training required in the face of the advent of new technologies such as GPS... more
Several factors have been militating against the progress of Geomatics education worldwide. They include, but are not limited to, the nature of adequate student training required in the face of the advent of new technologies such as GPS and GIS, inadequate financial support from governmental and intergovernmental bodies, and most importantly the lack of awareness among potential students, the future professionals to face the workplace challenges. The challenges are compounded in Saudi Arabia due to contextual factors. For instance, lack of job opportunities for Saudi graduates is exacerbated by the graduates' preference to work in air-conditioned offices rather than in field sites subjected to harsh weather. This in part led to low student enrollment to the Yanbu Industrial College (YIC) Geomatics program. Also inimical to the development of Geomatics is the lack of a professional body to raise the awareness about the discipline and regulate its practice. In this paper, we highlight some of the issues threatening the sustainability of Geomatics education globally and in Saudi Arabia in particular. We discuss an enhancement program being adopted by YIC, which includes revamping the curriculum based on industrial requirements, developing a bachelor degree option, and initiating education-industry partnerships to address these challenges. We present results from a questionnaire administered to collect information on industrial needs, course design, and competencies that are mostly needed by the Saudi market. As a result of the enhancement program, more students are choosing Geomatics as their first enrollment option and student retention is improving.
