Looking Ahead to the Fall: Geomatics in Canada 2014
The summer is a time of year when most of us slow down a little bit. Just like everyone else, Canadian geomatics folks like to head to the cottage or even the hills for relaxation. Spending time outdoors with friends and family is one of those things we do for fun. But before we can get too cozy on the dock, it’s back to reality! Thankfully, Fall 2014 has a lot of things to look forward to in geomatics.
Looking at the GoGeomatics Calendar of events for 2014, there is a lot going on in Canada for geomatics events and conferences. September sees the return of the GoGeomatics Socials across Canada. We are kicking off the new season of socials after the summer break with a “Back to School” series. Like all our socials, these events will be free, fun, and casual. If you know a student or teacher interested in GIS, remote sensing, surveying or geomatics in general please contact us so we can let them know. We’ll be bringing you more information about our “Back to School” socials in the coming weeks.
In October, there are three events I want to attend. They are the GÉOCONGRÈS2014, the ISPRS event, and the GeoAlberta2014 event. GoGeomatics is also looking forward to the November CGCRT leadership and governance event that should be coming up this fall. I’ve talked with some of the leaders involved and the event will be of interest to any company, group, associations or individuals invested in the future governance of the geomatics sector in Canada. As well, the first working groups of the CGCRT are starting to work together through a series of conference calls. The market group was the first to meet, on August 7th.
Some of the biggest news to come out this summer was the launch of the GIS Centres of Excellence initiative by Esri Canada. They have stated that “There will be Centres at the University of Victoria and Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, McMaster University and the University of Waterloo in Ontario, McGill University in Quebec, and a joint centre between Dalhousie University and the Nova Scotia Community College, Centre of Geographic Sciences in Nova Scotia. Over the next three years, Centres will be opened in the Prairie provinces, followed by additional Centres in Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes.” That is big news indeed in the Canadian GIS community. GoGeomatics is going to talk to Esri more in the next month and delve a bit deeper into this story.
I hope you’re all having a great summer and I hope to see some of you in the fall at some of these great events!
