AGI and SPA Delhi sign MoU for Geospatial Capacity Development
November 18, 2022, Friday New Delhi: India’s premier educational institute for the built environment – the School of Planning and Architecture Delhi (SPA-D), and the country’s Geospatial Industry body – the Association of Geospatial Industries (AGI), have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for Geospatial Capacity Development at the SPA-D premises, in the presence of Director SPA-D Prof. Dr. P. S. N. Rao, and President AGI Mr. Pramod Kaushik.
To cope with India’s rapid urbanization in a sustainable, informed, and planned manner, it is imperative that Government, private, and academic institutions leverage Geospatial data. The acute shortage of tech-ready professionals adversely impacts this vision. Skilled human resources are urgently needed for data capture, processing, modeling analytics, application development, and data dissemination. At the same time, students and professionals need hands-on, practical exposure to the latest trends and technologies beyond their academic pedagogy.
Under this MoU, SPA-D and AGI with its countrywide member ecosystem, will work towards bridging the gap between current learning outcomes and industry requirements concerning Geospatial technologies. Addressing the need for skill-based, industry-ready training for students and professionals, the MoU aims at inculcating a tech-forward mindset, improving employability, and increasing the availability of trained manpower for industrial and social development.
On this occasion, Dr. P. S. N. Rao, Director, SPA-D noted, “Our focus at SPA-D is to equip our students with the resources, training, and exposure they need to be industry-ready. Spatial planning tools have an important place as the foundation of planned urban development across segments like urban and regional planning, transport planning, environmental planning, and so on. We have dedicated GIS labs and mandatory GIS courses, and encourage the use and understanding of technologies in doctoral and research projects across departments at SPA-D. Through this MoU with AGI, we look forward to giving our students much more exposure to the latest trends, technologies, and innovations in the Geospatial industry.
Mr. Pramod Kaushik, President AGI remarked, “Geospatial technologies have a pronounced role to play in the advancement of India’s urban centres, driving smarter, data-driven urban planning and development. City planners and administrators are increasingly using LiDAR, drone surveys, satellite and aerial imagery, remote sensing, etc., for targeted urban interventions, implementation, management, and monitoring. The deregulation of Geospatial data by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India in Feb 2021 has further boosted Geospatial’s reach and penetration. We look forward to meaningful collaboration with SPA-D on these lines, in terms of skilling and capacity development of students to make them industry ready, working together on research and consultancy projects, and ushering in new innovations in the area.”
About the Association of Geospatial Industries
The Association of Geospatial Industries (AGI) is an industry-led non-profit non-government professional organization that represents the interests of the geospatial industry in India and works towards the advancement of geospatial technologies and their applications. Its primary goal is to accelerate the adoption of geospatial technologies in India. Established in 2009, the Association of Geospatial Industries is headquartered in New Delhi, India.
Contact:
Ms. Sakshi Singh
Content Manager, Association of Geospatial Industries
E: sakshi.singh@agiindia.com
