Passport to the Future: The new GIS Program at the Faculty of Technology, University of Qatar

Prof. Steven Rose,
GIS Professor,
University of Qatar, College of Technology, Doha, Qatar.

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Authors:

Professor Steven Rose, Faculty of Technology, University of Qatar

Dr. Kamel Hamrouni, Chairman, Faculty of Technology, University of Qatar

Dr. Mohamed Al-Kubeisi, Dean of Student Services, and Chairman of the GIS Unit, University of Qatar

Introduction

The rapid development of GIS in Qatar and it's excellence in integrating this technology throughout all levels of government are well known in the global GIS community and certainly well demonstrated at this conference. Due to the incredible rate of development in Qatar and its relatively small population base, Qatar has had to rely on foreign workers to build much of its infrastructure &endash; including its GIS infrastructure. This paper addresses the answers to two questions:

"What are the future GIS employment opportunities in Qatar for its citizens?",

and

"How does a Qatari citizen obtain a passport to this future?"

The Future

Since GIS started in Qatar a little of six years ago, it has spread throughout virtually every government agency. Currently there are over 100 government jobs directly involved in GIS and this number is estimated to at least double over the next few years (Table 1).

Table 1

Number of Positions

QATAR Agency's involved in GIS

Now

In two years

In five years

Agriculture

4

6

8

Base Mapping

10

15

20

Central Statistics Organization

2

4

6

Centre for GIS

10

12

14

Drainage

15

17

20

Education

2

4

6

Electricity

5

10

13

Environment

2

4

6

Fisheries

2

4

6

Health

2

4

6

Planning

20

25

30

Police Services

5

10

12

Real Estate and Registration

10

10

6

Roads

10

15

20

Telecommunications

4

10

20

Water

5

10

12

* estimates by Mr. Abdalla Al-Kuwari, Assistant Head, Centre for GIS

 

This estimate is conservative for two reasons. Firstly, because it is difficult to predict the future when dealing with a technology, such as automobiles or computers or GIS, that impacts and changes our daily lives in so many ways. As noted by Abdulla Al-Kuwari, Assistant Head, Center for GIS, State of Qatar,

"The use of GIS technology in Qatar continues to expand rapidly. It seems that the more it is used, the greater the demand. One application stimulates the development of two others."

Secondly, the estimate of future GIS employment is only based on some government agencies. It does not include GIS employment which will occur in such places as the University of Qatar, the Armed Forces, the Oil and Gas industry and the many other private sector companies which are beginning to use GIS for a diverse array of applications.

The future for increasing GIS employment in Qatar is indeed bright; however, for many Qatari citizens the future is now. Even if there was no increase in GIS employment &endash; a highly unlikely event &endash; there are many opportunities now for Qatari citizens (both male and female) with the GIS skills required to replace existing expatriate workers.

The Passport

How does a Qatari citizen obtain a passport to this future? Until recently, the only two options for a Qatari to obtain the knowledge and skills required to fill the many GIS jobs in their own country were: 1) to travel abroad for GIS education or 2) to learn GIS on the job, possibly with the support of short courses offered by the Center for GIS. Both of these methods are still available and will remain important for the foreseeable future; however, neither of them can supply either the quantity or the quality of skilled GIS people that Qatar urgently requires.

As of September, 1996 there is a third option &endash; the new GIS Program in the Faculty of Technology which has been established through close cooperation with the Center for GIS of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Agriculture and the GIS Unit of the University of Qatar. The remainder of this paper will describe the objectives and curriculum of the new GIS Program and the GIS laboratory facilities designed to support the students in their studies.

GIS Program Objectives

The fundamental objective of the new GIS Program in the Faculty of Technology, University of Qatar is to:

"Train students to be skilled GIS Technologists that can be productive staff for the many Government agencies and the growing number of private sector firms involved in GIS throughout Qatar." (GIS Program Proposal, 1996)

Graduates of the GIS Program are expected to be able to sit at a GIS workstation and be productive. Specific requirements of a GIS graduate, as outlined by Mr. Zul Jiwani (Head, Center for GIS, Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Agriculture, state of Qatar) during initial Program design meetings were:

A basic understanding of geomatics including:

  • basic surveying and geographic concepts
  • surface of the earth, spherical and planimetric coordinate systems
  • QATAR National Grid and QATAR National Datum
  • the capabilities and accuracy possible from GPS
  • map projections and transformations

A basic computer literacy including:

  • familiarity with computer hardware and peripherals used in GIS
  • use of operating systems (DOS, Windows, UNIX)
  • use of networks
  • database management including building simple Oracle tables and forms
  • a basic ability to program a computer

A fundamental understanding of GIS including

  • knowledge of terminology and basic spatial data structures (raster and vector)
  • ability to enter spatial data into a GIS by digitizing and scanning
  • ability to create map products from a GIS
  • ability to do basic GIS analysis
  • ability to write simple GIS applications using GIS customization tools (for example, AML and Avenue)
  • knowledge of QATAR's data standards, data dictionary and spatial databases

In addition to the above, the following two points were emphasized during the design of the GIS Program:

QATAR is in the enviable position of having standardized the GIS hardware and software used throughout the Country. In order to be as productive as possible when they enter the workforce, students of GIS should focus their studies on these standard products.

It is critically important that students are taught, and accept, the management philosophy that National standards be followed so that data is collected properly once and then shared with all other users. The National interest must come before Departmental interests.

Finally, since GIS graduates will be expected to work in a largely English-oriented discipline, the language of instruction would be English.

GIS Curriculum

The GIS curriculum was designed to meet the Program's objectives while adhering to the following Faculty of Technology guidelines:

  • programs consist of five semesters (two and a half years), plus a four-week on site training period between semesters 4 and 5,
  • each semester consists of 14 weeks of instruction plus two on-week testing periods,
  • there are seven courses for a total of 20 credit hours per semester,
  • students have about 30 hours of classes per week
  • about 1/3 of the instructional time is spent on theory and 2/3 on practical learning experiences

The GIS curriculum consists of three building blocks: a foundation block, a computer block and a GIS block (table 2). The foundation block, which runs throughout the entire five semesters, consists of cultural, language and mathematics courses that a student requires to learn and understand GIS concepts and to work in Qatar. English courses account for almost one fifth (18%) of the total instruction time in the GIS Program.

The computer block consists of courses a student requires to comfortably use, understand and develop GIS applications. These are:

  • introductory computer courses
  • Computer Fundamentals,
  • Word Processing and
  • Operating Systems,
  • programming courses
  • Programming Principles,
  • Algorithms and Data Structures,
  • C Programming (1)
  • C Programming (2) and
  • Object-oriented programming, and
  • database courses
  • Database (1) and
  • Database (2).

The strong emphasis on computer skills (figure 1) in the GIS Program is deliberate. A skilled GIS Technologist requires solid computer skills to be able to:

  • comfortably use the technology - particularly when something is not working correctly,
  • understand how GIS software is built and therefore how to get the most out of it,
  • develop custom GIS applications to meet the needs of their employers, and
  • more readily learn and adapt to the rapid changes in GIS hardware and software.

The significant time and effort placed on the computer courses provides a solid foundation for successfully learning GIS during the Program and for many years following graduation. Becoming a skilled GIS technologist requires much more than simply learning to digitize or to memorize which buttons to press to make a particular software package do something.

Table 2. GIS Program Curriculum

Semester 1

Semester 2

Semester 3

Semester 4

Semester 5

Computer Fundamentals
(3)*

Introduction to GIS
(4)

Georeferencing
(4)

Land Base
(4)

Technical Issues in GIS
(4)

Programming Principles
(5)

Operating Systems 1
(4)

Spatial Data Entry
(4)

GIS in QATAR
(2)

GIS Management
(3)

Word Processing
(4)

Algorithms and Data Structures
(5)

Vector GIS Analysis
(4)

Raster GIS Analysis
(40)

Advanced GIS Analysis
(4)

Mathematics
(4)

C Programming 1
(5)

Spatial Data Output
(4)

GIS Programming 1
(5)

GIS Programming 2
(4)

Islamic Culture
(2)

Mathematics and Statistics
(4)

C Programming 2
(5)

Object-oriented Programming
(5)

Final Project
(12)

Arabic 1
(2)

Arabic 2
(2)

Database 1
(5)

Database 2
(5)

Professional Psychology
(2)

Basic English
(10)

Technical. English 1
(5)

Technical English 2
(5)

Technical English 3
(5)

Technical English 4
(2)

Foundation Courses

Computer Courses

GIS Courses

On-Site Training (4 weeks)

*(x) where x = the number of instructional hours per week

The GIS block consists of courses that teach GIS theory and concepts combined with a focus on hands-on, practical use of the GIS software, hardware and data standards that have been adopted throughout Qatar by the National GIS Steering Committee. This focus on standard products and datasets will enable graduates of the GIS Program to be productive employees as soon as they join the work force. The GIS block consists of the following:

basic GIS concepts and techniques

  • Introduction to GIS (practical work using ArcView)
  • Georeferencing (practical work using Arc/Info)
  • Spatial Data Entry (practical work using Arc/Edit and ArcScan)
  • Spatial Data Output (practical work using Arc/Plot)

spatial analysis

  • Vector GIS Analysis (practical work using Arc/Info),
  • Raster GIS Analysis (practical work using Arc/Info's GRID module),
  • Advanced GIS Analysis (practical work using Arc/Info's TIN and Network Modules),
  • Technical Issues in GIS (practical work using C and AML programming)

GIS data standards, applications and management in Qatar

  • Land Base
  • GIS in Qatar
  • GIS Management
  • On-site training (workplace experience using Arc/Info)

GIS applications development

  • GIS Programming (1) (practical work using Arc/Info's AML)
  • GIS Programming (2) (practical work using Avenue and Map objects)
  • Final Project (a large, comprehensive project)

GIS Facilities

Learning to become a skilled, GIS Technologist that can sit down and use a GIS workstation is much like learning to ride a bicycle &endash; it takes time and practice using real equipment. You cannot learn either skill by simply reading books, listening to lectures, or watching training videos. If a person is expected to use a GIS to do something useful in the workplace, then they must use a GIS during their training.

Due to the foresight and cooperation of Sheikh Ahmed Bin Hamad Al-Thani and His Excellency Ali Bin Saeed Al-Khayareen (the previous and current Ministers of Municipal Affairs and Agriculture) and the dedication of Dr. Ibrahim S. Al Naimi (President of the University of Qatar) the students in the new GIS Program at the Faculty of Technology will enjoy what is quite probably the best opportunity in the world to train on the GIS software, hardware and data that they will find in the workplace. The state-of-the-art GIS laboratories currently under construction at the Faculty of Technology consist of a high-end, Unix-based GIS lab and an introductory level, pc-based GIS lab &endash; all connected by a fiber optic cable to the entire county's GIS databases!

The high-end GIS lab (figure 2) will consist of a large, Unix-based Digital Alpha 2100 server supporting 20 GIS workstations (16 of them with A0-sized digitizing tables), scanners and large format (A0-sized) colour printers. The full suite of ESRI's Arc/Info GIS software products will be available to all 20 workstations. The introductory-level, pc-based GIS lab uses Windows'95 and ESRI's ArcView GIS software.

One of the most significant aspects of the new GIS labs at the Faculty of Technology is that they will be connected by a fiber optic link to the Center for GIS, and hence to all of Qatar's publicly accessible GIS databases in all of the Government agencies using GIS. Students will not only be using the same hardware and GIS software that they will find in the workplace, but they will be learning how to use the same datasets, with the same coding and data standards that they will find in the work place.

A concurrent computer networking project at the University of Qatar will make the new GIS lab even more accessible and valuable to the entire University and to the entire State of Qatar. The University of Qatar is currently installing a large fiber optic, ATM-based network that will link virtually all computers at the University, including the new GIS labs, together. Since the GIS labs will be connected to all government GIS sites, this means that all computers at the University will be connected to many Government sites. Students and faculty from almost anywhere in the University will be able to use the analytical power of the new GIS labs and access the entire State's spatial databases. It will be several years before the full impact of this information revolution is realized; however, the possibilities for cooperation and information and resource sharing between students and faculty, between faculty in different departments and between University and Government researchers seem endless.

Conclusion

The inaugural class of 17 ladies started the GIS Program in September, 1996 and will graduate in the spring of 1999. In each subsequent September the GIS Program will accept at least one class of 16 men and one class of 16 ladies. Although there will be individual and institutional challenges to be overcome as these students progress through the GIS Program there is no doubt that their graduation is anxiously awaited by the GIS community in Qatar.

Students in the GIS Program in the Faculty of Technology, University of Qatar will have access to one of the best GIS training facilities in the world and will graduate into an already large and rapidly growing GIS job market. For many Qatari nationals, the new GIS Program is truly a passport to the future.

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