Australia: The School of Surveying and Spatial Information Systems at the University of New South Wales will now be known as the School of Surveying and Geospatial Engineering (SAGE). The name reflects the two degree programmes offered by the School: Bachelor of Engineering (Surveying) and Bachelor of Engineering (GIS).
The head of SAGE, Professor Chris Rizos, said it was important that the name of the school aid in attracting school leavers and mature-age students to its programmes. The name now reflects accurately the two degrees and the two professional pathways that are offered by the school.
He said that surveying has an established career path and an established client base. But geospatial engineers face quite a different world.
Graduates will be expected to understand the operations and applications of large databases and complex IT systems; navigation and positioning; digital image processing; laser scanning and remote sensing.
‘Graduates will rub shoulders with new clients in new industries created from these new geospatial technologies. It’s exciting, but clear career paths remain difficult to predict. There are great opportunities, but much will depend on the vicissitudes of these new industries,” he noted.
“It is important to emphasise that this name change reflects our mission, which is to educate the next generation of engineers for careers in new industries. It is also an attempt to encapsulate what we stand for as a school and to advertise the rigour of our research in geospatial technologies and their applications,” he added.
Source: UNSW
