Vancouver BCIT GIS Program seeking sponsors for student practicums/projects

The BCIT GIS program is seeking sponsors, particularly companies and government agencies, to undertake a project or practicum with BCIT students in the January-May/June 2019 semester.

A BCIT GIS Practicum or Project offers a valuable opportunity for sponsors to play a role in GIS technology education while benefiting from the student’s knowledge and skills. There is no cost to the sponsor for a GIS Practicum or Project. Simply fill out our Sponsor Project or Practicum form and send it to karl_kliparchuk@bcit.ca by mid-September. Your form is posted for the students, who contact you with their interest. Phone or in-person interviews take place from the end of September to mid-October. All students require a sponsor by the end of October.

Project vs. Practicum Overview

A practicum is suitable for a sponsor who has technical expertise and time sufficient to provide detailed work supervision for the work undertaken by the student. The practicum uses an employer/employee mentor relationship, with the student working in your office.

Past companies/agencies that have had practicum students work in their office in a production setting have included:

• Environment Canada: Applying GIS to Watersheds, Sub-watersheds, and Catchments in BC and Bi-national Basins:
• World Wildlife Fund Canada: Performing day-to-day GIS tasks pertaining to various Marine and Freshwater projects
• Township of Langley: Applying GIS skills to tasks in a municipal setting
• Selwyn Chihong Mining Ltd: Creation of 3D workspaces showing the progression of a mining property development

A project is a unit of work carried out independently by the student here at BCIT. The Project sponsor will approve the project, will be advised of the Project status on an ongoing basis, and will review the completed project. BCIT faculty provides technical direction and project supervision. Past projects have included:

Past projects have included:

• E-COMM 9-1-1: converting a situational awareness application from Flex API for ArcGIS to ArcGIS API for JavaScript
• DGE 3DMM: develop a process to classify road conditions from LiDAR point clouds
• City of Kelowna: using LiDAR and building outlines, determine the solar potential of buildings.

Both models can be flexibly defined to achieve an optimal solution for the three stakeholders: sponsors, students, and BCIT faculty. You may also find a great student that you would like to hire after they graduate!

Please do not hesitate to contact karl_kliparchuk@bcit.ca for any questions about the program.