Commission 2

NEWSLETTER, May 1998


Dear Colleagues


The FIG Congress is just ahead of us to be held in Brighton UK, 19-25 July 1998, and I trust that I will meet almost all of you at this important event.

The Congress represents the highlight of the period of office 1994-98 and it represents the end of this period of office as well. I would like to take this opportunity to update and summarize the work of the commission and at the same time thank for you all for your interest and co-operation.

Commission 2 Programme at the FIG Congress in Brighton, 19-25 July 1998
A very interesting programme has been prepared for the Commission 2 sessions at the Brighton Congress. The programme is organised to reflect the Commission 2 work plan. There will be sessions dedicated to each of the four working groups and there will be a general session for discussing the current educational policies and the results of Commission 2 as well as strategies for the future work. There will also be a number of joint sessions (with commission 1,3,4,5 and 7) and there will be a special session to present current educational developments in member countries. In total, Commission 2 will present 35 papers. This is the largest Commission 2 has ever organised for a Congress. I am sure that all participants will find this high-profile programme interesting and enjoyable. A copy of the programme is enclosed.

The Commission 2 programme also includes two options for technical tours to the Dartford Campus of the University of Greenwich (School of Land and Construction Management) and the University College London (Department of Photogrammetry and Surveying). The Tours are scheduled for Friday 24 July.

Commission 2 Delegate Meeting in Brighton
A working meeting for the Commission 2 delegates is planned for Tuesday 21 July at 13.00 in our Commission Room. The main objective of the meeting will be to discuss the draft work plan for the period of office 1998-2002 prepared by our vice-chair prof. Kirsi Artimo. The draft work plan will be disseminated with the PC- agenda papers and includes a number of interesting issues and perspectives for the future work of the Commission. The meeting should generate the focus of the work areas for the next period of office and all delegates are encouraged to participate and take part in the discussions. You may also contact Kirsi Artimo in advance by E-mail >kirsi.artimo@hut.fi<. "You will get as much out of it as you put in to it". This old saying is certainly valid for international work such as in FIG.

New Guidelines for Commission Delegates
The FIG Bureau has issued new "Guidelines for FIG member associations and their Commission Delegates". These enclosed guidelines highlight the importance and expectation of appointed delegates to be active and to contribute whenever possible to all FIG activities. The guidelines also state that member associations should support the attendance of their delegates to FIG activities.

These guidelines underpin the crucial role of the commission delegates to the full scale work of FIG. I believe that these guidelines should be seen as a very important statement as it identifies the responsibilities of the member associations and of the delegates whom they appoint to commissions. Hopefully, the guidelines may help to develop the FIG working weeks as the main platform for involving the national delegates of the commissions.

Improving the Surveying Education Database
As many of you may know, Commission 2 has launched the Surveying Education Database on the Internet (address: http:// www.i4.auc.dk/sedb). The database includes more than 40 countries and informs about the structure and contents of about 300 surveying courses at university level throughout the world. More detailed information on each course can then be achieved through a link to the relevant university home page. All delegates of Commission 2 are encouraged to support this database by providing the relevant and up-to-date information.

The purpose of the database is threefold: (i) to facilitate international exchange and co-operation; (ii) to underpin the identity of surveying education against international bodies such as UNESCO etc., and (iii) to serve as a proof of the wide range of surveying courses and number of surveying students throughout the world.

The database has been very well received. However, the future success of the database will depend on the validity of the data included, and the current updating procedures does not seem to be sufficient in this regard. It is currently investigated how to organise the updating process in a way which makes the individual educational institution responsible for the validity of the data through an on-line access.

Academic Members of FIG is introduced
A new kind of FIG-members will be introduced at the General Assembly in Brighton. The proposed new statutes will invite Surveying Institutions to be "Academic Members"of FIG and thereby become more closely involved with and contribute to the work of the Federation. As a benefit of this membership the institution may also be offered an enlarged presentation in Surveying Education Database.

All delegates of Commission 2 are encouraged to promote this idea at their national educational institutions. The concept will enlarge the educational commitment of FIG and make a dynamic contribution to the future development of our profession. This will be for the benefit of national institutions of surveying education and for the benefit of the international surveying community as a whole.

Announcement for Commission 2 Seminar in Wuhan, China, 14-16 October 1998.
As agreed during the FIG working in Singapore Commission 2 will organise a seminar to be held in the Asian region at Wuhan Technical University of Surveying and Mapping. The seminar will be conducted by Prof. Liu Yanfang, the Chinees delegate to Commission 2. The announcement and call for papers has been disseminated at an earlier stage and is enclosed to this newsletter as well. The seminar will focus on University Curricula, Quality Systems, Teaching Methods, Land Management, and general Development of Educational Concepts for Surveying and Mapping. The seminar will provide an unique opportunity to be acquainted with and to develop surveying education in the Asian region and to develop surveying education concepts in general.

Commission 2 is grateful to Wuhan Technical University of Surveying and Mapping and to prof. Liu Yanfang for hosting this seminar and it is highly recommended for all Commission 2 delegates to participate. Next to the high professional profile the seminar will also offer a post conference tour at the famous Three Gorges of Yangtze River.

Please study the enclosed announcement and please contact Prof. Liu Yangang for further information and registration. Email: >yfliu@dns.wtusm.edu.cn<. Deadline for papers is 31 August 1998.

FIG Permanent Office to be established in Copenhagen, Denmark
As a result of the PC Meeting in Singapore it was decided to establish a FIG permanent Office at the Surveyors house in Copenhagen, Denmark. The Permanent Office will be staffed with a Director of Administration and a half time employed personal assistant and will be in force from 1 January 1999. This new FIG institution will provided an new era for FIG to act as a fully mature NGO. The Permanent Office will also act as a key facilitator for the work of the commissions and as the key information centre of FIG.

Review of the work of Commission 2 1994-98
The current profile of the Commission and the results achieved is presented in my keynote paper "The Educational Policies of FIG - Report of FIG Commission 2 1994-98" to be presented at the first Commission 2 session in Brighton. A copy of the paper is enclosed.

The work plan for the current period of office was focused on issues identified as representing some of the main educational challenges facing the international surveying community. The working groups has been very active in investigating these issues and some major results have been achieved. Among these should be mentioned the report on Continuing Professional Development which was issued as FIG publication no 15 in September 1996; the Surveying Education Database which was launched at the PC meeting in Singapore May 1997; and the report on Quality Assurance in Surveying Education which is prepared for adoption at PC meeting in Brighton. A further report on Management Skills will be prepared for adoption at the PC meeting in South Africa, May 1999. Furthermore, Commission officers have been active in providing institutional support of developing countries; and in building a worldwide surveying education network through participation a number of seminars throughout the world.

The Commission Chairman is very grateful to all commission officers and all delegates involved for the results achieved. The "team-spirit" developed has been very stimulating and very promising for the future work. Thank you to you all. To me it has been great fun as well.

Looking to the future
It is recommended that the focused approach of the Commission should continue. The work areas of the Commission should be identified and stated in such a way that results can be achieved within the four-year period of term. However, some efforts such as international networking, international exchange, and support of developing countries should be seen as ongoing projects to fulfill the overall objective of Commission 2.

I am sure that Kirsi Artimo, my designated successor, will follow this track and also lead the Commission successfully into the next millennium. There is no doubt that Kirsi will conduct the Commission in a professional and elegant way - as was the case at the Commission 2 seminar in Helsinki, September 1996. I wish Kirsi Artimo and the officers of Commission 2 the best of success in their work during the next period of office.

Finally, I would like once again to express my thanks to all officers and delegates who have devoted their work to our Commission. Personal contact, commitment and cooperation are the main keys to innovation and international progress. I am looking forward to see all the friends of Commission 2 in Brighton.


Kind regards

Yours sincerely

 

Stig Enemark
Chairman of FIG Commission 2