Course cursor: Why India needs skilled Geodesy experts
Geospatial sector in the country is estimated to grow at 13.8% in time to come
Representative Image. (Getty Images) Geodesy, a part of metrology is the science of measurement of earth. The subject helps us to understand the shape and size of the earth.
“From designing a town to constructing the roads, the application of Geodesy is needed everywhere,” says Balaji Devaraju, assistant professor, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Kanpur. The course, recently introduced at IIT Kanpur will create a skilled workforce to serve the growing geospatial sector in India, which is estimated to grow 13.8% and is worth US $1.1 billion.
The Civil Engineering Department of IIT Kanpur has launched a one-year diploma in Geodesy. The course will have three major areas – Geodesy, Navigation and Mapping, and Remote Sensing and geographic information system (GIS). The diploma programme is aimed to serve working professionals.
Currently, more than 150 geospatial-related projects are being run by the Indian government. The geospatial technologies are being used for projects including Ganga cleaning, mapping health and education schemes in the country and more.
“India would need more trained workforce in this sector to serve the ongoing and upcoming infrastructure and telecommunication sectors, online maps for directions, and mapping of natural resources,” he adds.
“In view of the estimated growth rate in the next 3-4 years, close to 12 lakh skilled professional would be needed to serve the sector. They will be doing jobs related to data capture, data processing, data modelling & analysis, and application development,” says Agendra Kumar, president, Esri India, an end-to-end Geospatial Information Systems (GIS) solutions provider.
Absence of professional courses
There are close to 25 colleges providing formal education in this subject. Highlighting the need for strengthening the overall learning, Kumar says that the gap will be bridged by increasing the number of colleges offering the course and introducing specialisations in the existing departments.
As per the current strength, educational institutions can produce only 1000 professionals every year and there is a need to have more skilled graduates, adds Kumar.
Opportunities
One can seek a job in this field by pursuing either diploma, degree, or postgraduate courses. “After the course completion, candidates can get a job in various fields including highway authority, road and dam construction companies etc,” says Kumar.
“From designing a town to constructing the roads, the application of Geodesy is needed everywhere,” says Balaji Devaraju, assistant professor, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Kanpur. The course, recently introduced at IIT Kanpur will create a skilled workforce to serve the growing geospatial sector in India, which is estimated to grow 13.8% and is worth US $1.1 billion.
The Civil Engineering Department of IIT Kanpur has launched a one-year diploma in Geodesy. The course will have three major areas – Geodesy, Navigation and Mapping, and Remote Sensing and geographic information system (GIS). The diploma programme is aimed to serve working professionals.
Currently, more than 150 geospatial-related projects are being run by the Indian government. The geospatial technologies are being used for projects including Ganga cleaning, mapping health and education schemes in the country and more.
“India would need more trained workforce in this sector to serve the ongoing and upcoming infrastructure and telecommunication sectors, online maps for directions, and mapping of natural resources,” he adds.
“In view of the estimated growth rate in the next 3-4 years, close to 12 lakh skilled professional would be needed to serve the sector. They will be doing jobs related to data capture, data processing, data modelling & analysis, and application development,” says Agendra Kumar, president, Esri India, an end-to-end Geospatial Information Systems (GIS) solutions provider.
Absence of professional courses
There are close to 25 colleges providing formal education in this subject. Highlighting the need for strengthening the overall learning, Kumar says that the gap will be bridged by increasing the number of colleges offering the course and introducing specialisations in the existing departments.
As per the current strength, educational institutions can produce only 1000 professionals every year and there is a need to have more skilled graduates, adds Kumar.
Opportunities
One can seek a job in this field by pursuing either diploma, degree, or postgraduate courses. “After the course completion, candidates can get a job in various fields including highway authority, road and dam construction companies etc,” says Kumar.
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