Further GIS - Intermediate +

In-Person

Aimed at:  1st Years

Duration: 2 days

CENTA Training Credits:  4

Training Area(s): Theme Science and Technical Skills

Trainers: Dr Tom Potter, Mounts Bay Labs/UoL (CENTA Alumni) and Jamie Macmanaway (CENTA PGR)

Venue: The Exchange, 3 Centenary Square Birmingham B1 2DR - What3Words: https://w3w.co/pack.boom.grit (Nearest Rail Station: Birmingham New Street Station. Please note, this venue is in the city centre, not UoB Campus.)

The venue does not have parking on-site, but there is parking at the nearby Town Hall Car Park. If driving, please be aware this venue is within the Birmingham Clean Air Zone; if your vehicle is not exempt you will need to pay a fee - make sure you do this on Drive in a clean air zone - GOV.UK ONLY - be careful of scam/third-party websites pretending to be government websites.

***REGISTRATION OPENS 08:00 1st OCTOBER***

This course offers training in GIS and geospatial data workflows for intermediate users - those who have used GIS before.

It will provide an opportunity to not only refresh yourself in terms of the latest in GIS and remote sensing, but also to immerse yourself directly in more cutting edge workflows.

Day One

The first day will be spent engaging with principles of GIS and remote sensing, with plenty of show and tell regarding datasets from different sensors.

We begin with a refresher on the basics of GIS data (points, lines, polygons; rasters and vectors) and processes including data management, quality control and spatial analysis.

We then explore data typically used in environmental GIS - satellite and drone imagery, airborne and terrestrial LiDAR, SONAR data of the sea floor and much more. We will also cover field data capture, sourcing third party datasets and various open source software packages - with particular focus on the popular and powerful QGIS.

The day will be broken into three sessions: the first will be show-and-tell, with the others dedicated to tackling challenges designed to stretch your GIS problem-solving skills.

Day Two

The second day will be more hands-on and open-ended. You will be given the opportunity to choose one or more from a selection of mini projects based on recent consulting projects. These will be set-up as mini challenges to resolve. Data will be provided but you’ll have to use your initiative to find solutions!

Alternatively, come pre-prepared with your own GIS research question and take advantage of an informal and supportive environment where there is no such thing as a stupid question.

Note:

You will need to bring your own laptop with QGIS and CloudCompare pre-installed but datasets will be provided on the day.

Please email an overview of your research question(s) to the course leader (Dr Tom Potter; tom@mountsbaylabs.com) at least 7 days in advance so we can tailor our support.

If you can, please arrange your own travel and keep receipts for reimbursement (please note, all travel must be within the limits set by University of Birmingham Expenses Policy, e.g. standard class train travel). However, if you would struggle to do this, let us know at centa-admin@contacts.bham.ac.uk and we may be able to pay upfront for your travel if coming by public transport.