The School of Surveying hosts GIS short courses for staff and postgraduates who want to start using or improve their use of GIS software.

These courses are provided annually and typically run in the week prior to the start of Semester One (mid-February). They are free to attend. An email is distributed to the University in January with information on how to attend.

*** The GIS Short Courses have been shifted to mid-semester break for 2021 and are scheduled for April 7 - 8, 2021. See below for details on each course. *** - Updated March 16, 2021

Introduction to QGIS

The three hour course will introduce participants to QGIS, the leading free and open-source Geographic Information System (GIS) software package. As an open-source alternative to ArcGIS, QGIS offers powerful spatial data management, analysis and visualisation and runs on multiple computer platforms (Windows, Mac, Linux) with constant development and expansion.

Participants in this course will be introduced to the QGIS interface and explore some common workflows in a GIS, such as importing and displaying spatial data from a text file, analysis tools such as buffer and intersect and the use of Open Street Map (crowd-sourced data) and other data available with plug-ins for analysis and visualisation.

Screenshot
South Island

Details

When: Wednesday April 7th 2021, 1pm - 4pm
Where: Spatial lab (G13) on ground floor of Surveying Building, 310 Castle Street
Intended Audience: Postgraduates and staff
Cost: FREE for staff and postgraduate students
To register, or for more information, please email Aubrey Miller (gis@otago.ac.nz) and please include your university username, email address and department.
The course is limited to 30 participants.

Introduction to ArcGIS Pro

The three hour course will introduce participants to Esri's ArcGIS Pro software. ArcGIS is the industry-standard Geographic Information System (GIS) software used in many different fields and applications, from economics to ecology. Datasets increasingly contain location information. Knowing how to handle the spatial aspects of data improves analysis and results.

ArcGIS Pro offers improvements in handling multi-dimensional (e.g., elevation and time) data over ArcGIS Desktop programs like ArcMap. Participants in the course will be introduced to the ArcGIS Pro interface and explore some of analysis tools such as a viewshed calculation and LiDAR processing, as well as 3D scene visualisation and animations.

Rural mapping overlay
Urban mapping overlay

Details

When: Thursday April 8th 2021, 2pm - 5pm
Where: Spatial lab (G13) on ground floor of Surveying Building, 310 Castle Street
Intended Audience: Postgraduates and staff
Cost: FREE for staff and postgraduate students
To register, or for more information, please email Aubrey Miller (gis@otago.ac.nz) and please include your university username, email address and department.
The course is limited to 30 participants.

Introduction to ArcGIS Desktop

The four hour course will introduce participants to Esri's ArcGIS Desktop software. ArcGIS is the industry-standard Geographic Information System (GIS) software used in many different fields and applications, from economics to ecology. Datasets increasingly contain location information. Knowing how to handle the spatial aspects of data improves analysis and results.

Participants in the course will learn how to use tools and features in the software to import data, perform basic spatial analysis, symbolise data, export data into various formats, and map results.

Esri's ArcGIS Desktop map
Esri's ArcGIS Desktop in use

Details

When: Thursday April 8th 2021, 9am - 12pm
Where: Spatial lab (G13) on ground floor of Surveying Building, 310 Castle Street
Intended Audience: Postgraduates and staff
Cost: FREE for staff and postgraduate students
To register, or for more information, please email Aubrey Miller (gis@otago.ac.nz) and please include your university username, email address and department.
The course is limited to 30 participants.

For more information, contact:

Aubrey Miller
Email: aubrey.miller@otago.ac.nz

Back to top