Your input is requested. Surveying professionals and practitioners are invited to weigh in on matters of surveying and geomatics education, succession planning, branding, promotion, and outreach.
The 27th national biennial meeting of the Surveying and Geomatics Educators Society (SaGES) will be held August 4th – August 8th, 2019 at Nicholls State University, in Thibodaux, Louisiana (near New Orleans).
Co-hosted by SaGES and the geomatics program of Nicholls State University, this biennial event has become a lively forum for matters of formal surveying and geomatics education, but has grown to cover broader challenges—and opportunities—for the profession. I’ve attended a number of SaGES events and know that the broad-ranging dialogue represents “front line” facets of the future of surveying. Here are a few topics to consider:
- How can the profession keep up with the rising demand for surveyors amid the current uptick in infrastructure development?
- How has mentoring evolved in the age of automation?
- How can the profession preserve the critical fundamentals of surveying and also prepare surveying and geomatics students for the evolving workplace?
- How can surveying grow a brand that informs and educates our clientele, growing markets, and the general public about the valuable and critical work that we do?
This is your opportunity to provide some direct input to the front line of the future of the profession. Consider sending someone from your state society or local chapter, or have your society sponsor (if they have not already done so) the attendance of an educator (or educators) and/or student(s) from your local surveying program—or attend yourself (you know you’ve always wanted to visit New Orleans). And the event can count towards professional development hours (PDH).
We see great ideas for the future of surveying (Ok, and occasionally some not-so-great ideas) being discussed on surveying forums and social media, so how about bringing those ideas and feedback to a national organization that is in the position to act on ideas? And if you can’t attend, please send your input and ideas to SaGES via their website.
The SaGES 2019 agenda and registration can be found at the conference website.