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4/29/2014 A career in g eoinformatics and remote sensing - The
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Today's Paper FEATURES EMPOWER
A career in geoinformatics and remote sensing
Payal Chanania
Talk about Geoinformatics and most people will draw a blank.
Mention Google Maps, satellite navigation systems orGPS enabled
cabs and faces light up with interest immediately!
This riveting information and communication technology along
with other varied tools comprises the exciting field
oGeoinformatics (also known as Geographic Information Science GIS
or Geographic Information Technology- GIT).It is a key emerging and
evolving industry that offers an excellent career avenue with
immense potential and many a
yet undiscovered opportunities.
Mr. P.L.N. Raju, author of Fundamentals of Geographic
Information Systems' describes Geoinformatics as Thescience and
technology dealing with the structure and character of spatial
information, its capture, its classificationand qualification, its
storage, processing, portrayal and dissemination, including the
infrastructure necessary tosecure optimal use of this
information.
In simpler terms, it deals with the tools and technology used to
acquire, analyse and visualise our planet and itsresources from
space like the geographic location of Earth's boundaries, oceans,
natural features, man-madestructures, etc. This geospatial
information (along with geographic information systems) is used to
tackle variedproblems of geography, geosciences and related
branches of engineering. It includes remote sensing of
images,mapping, modelling, development of geospatial databases,
information systems design, and uses geocomputation
angeovisualisation for analysing the geoinformation. The derived
results are disseminated in user-friendly formats thatareregularly
updated.
Geoinformatics is an interdisciplinary field with wide-ranging
applications in almost all walks of life. It is most usefufor
government planning like urban and rural planning, land use
management, agriculture, forestry, public health,natural resource
management, infrastructure development and even the defence sector.
For transport, it proves nifty
for in-car navigation systems, automatic vehicle location
systems, aviation, maritime transport and traffic networkplanning
and management. Meteorology, oceanography, criminology and crime
simulation also benefit fromgeoinformatics. It holds great promise
in climate change studies, environmental modelling and analysis,
disastermanagement and preparedness and telecommunications.
Business location planning, architecture and
archaeologicreconstruction are also hugely improved by the use of
geoinformatics. Geography and Earth Sciences rely ongeoinformatic
data as well.
Educational background
Geoinformatics is a specialised field necessitating expert
knowledge. Background in science stream is a must.
Students from geography, geology, agriculture, engineering, IT
or computer science fields can gain admission toM.Sc., M.Tech.
courses in Geoinformatics and Remote Sensing. There is the option
to follow up with Ph.D.programmes. Shorter diploma, certificate and
M.A. courses are available as well.
The professional education imparts knowledge of the techniques,
technology and models used for projection systemsannotation
dimension and plotting, database management, 3D visualisation,
thematic mapping, remote sensingplatforms, geographic information
systems and global positioning systems. It also equips students
with the latesttrends in geospatial science and technology.
Various branches include web mapping, photogrammetry,
cartography, geodesy, disaster management, globalnavigation
satellite systems, remote sensing and geographic information
systems.
On the personal front, this demanding field calls for genuine
interest and passion for the subject matter. Studentsshould be
eager to learn and enthusiastically push the limits to find new
solutions. Robust analytical and problem-
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8/11/2019 A Career in Geoinformatics and Remote Sensing - The
Hindu
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4/29/2014 A career in g eoinformatics and remote sensing - The
Hindu
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-opportunities/a-career-in-geoinformatics-and-remote-sensing/article2992587.ece
solving skills will stand them in good stead. A positive
outlook, creativity and strong verbal and writtencommunication
skills go without saying. Two other essential requirements are
willingness to relocate and ongoinglearning.
Job prospects
Major users of geoinformatics applications and therefore
employers are the Central and State governments. Centralgovernment
agencies are under the Department of Space - National Remote
Sensing Agency (NRSA Hyderabad),North East Space Application
Centre, (NESAC Shillong), Regional Remote Sensing Application
Centre (RRSACKharagpur, Dehradun, Jodhpur, Nagpur and Bangalore),
Indian Space Research Organisation, (ISRO Bangalore),
Advanced Data Processing Research Institute (ADRIN Hyderabad)
and Space Application Centre (SAC Ahmedabad)apart from Indian
Agriculture Research Institute (IARI) and Indian Council of
Agriculture Research (ICAR). Stategovernments offer jobs in their
individual National Informatics Centre (NIC) and Space Application
Centres with
various State Electricity Boards lined up to implement
geoinformatics as well.With the private sector discovering
thebenefits of geoinformatics, there is growing demand in top
companies like Google, TCS, Reliance Industries,
ReliancCommunciations, Reliance Energy, CyberTech Systems, Geofiny
Technologies, Magnasoft Technology Services, etc.Then there are
environmental agencies, national survey and mapping organisations,
mineral exploration, utilitycompanies, emergency services, public
health and epidemiology, international organisations, United
Nations, crimemapping, transportation and infrastructure, tourist
industry, market analysis and e-commerce and so on.
Professor,reader and research positions are available in academic
institutions, and the prospects of starting one's
ownenterprise.
Job profiles range from Scientist, Project Coordinator, Project
Scientist, Technical Assistant, Research Scholar,
Research Associate, GIS Expert, GIS Environment Analyst, etc. in
government jobs to Project Manager, Senior SysteExecutive, Image
Analyst, GIS Business Analyst, GIS Engineer, GIS Programmer,
Geo-Spatial Software Engineer, etcin the commercial sector.
Salary ranges vary widely depending on the location, discipline
and experience. Approximate starting salary isRs.2,50,000 per annum
with higher positions averaging Rs.5,00,000 upwards.
Career potential
The geoinformatics field is in its nascent stage and expanding
at a rapid pace as more and more industries areemploying spatial
data to manage their activities. Almost no developmental project is
complete without geospatialinformation and it will soon become
imperative. The only limit is the acute shortage of skilled
professionals.Therefor
there is tremendous scope with accelerated growth and
development prospects. The pervasive use in diversedisciplines
ensures a wide variety of employment opportunities.
As Dr. P.K. Joshi, Professor and Head, TERI University New Delhi
highlights, The Government of India is takingnumerous initiatives
under Department of Space, Department of Science & Technology
(Natural Resources DataManagement System - NRDMS) and others.
Government/Planning commission is also setting up an Indian
NationaGIS Organisation (INGO). Likewise many others initiatives
are in process.
Payal Chanania
[email protected]
Where to study
Indian Institute of Remote Sensing and Sensing (IIRS), Dehradun
http://www.iirs.gov.in/
Indian Institute of Technology (lIT), Kharagpur, Roorkee, Kanpur
http://www.iitkgp.ac.in/ http://www.iitr.ac.in/
http://www.iitk.ac.in/
Birla Institute of Technology, Ranchi, Extension centres
Kolkatta, Jaipur http://www.bitmesra.ac.in/
National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA), Hyderabad
http://www.nrsc.gov.in/#
Space Application Centre (SAC), Ahmedabad and New Delhi
http://www.sac.gov.in
ISRO, Bangalore http://www.isro.org
Jawaharlal Nehru Technical University (JNTU), Hyderabad
http://www.jntu.ac.in
Survey Training Institute, Hyderabad
http://www.surveyofindia.
gov.in/Training.html
