The Southern African Geography Teachers’ Association (SAGTA) in partnership and collaboration with the Independent Examinations Board (IEB), Kartoza (an open-source GIS Service provider) and the University of Pretoria – has launched the online Geospatial Data Science Certificate (GDSC) for schools in South Africa. The GDSC is being piloted this year and allows Grade 10 to 12 learners the opportunity to put their skills in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to the test. Teams of between 2 to 5 people (only one person needs to be doing FET Geography) collaborate to successfully complete a two-part process to attain the GDSC. Part A is the theory and skills development (using GIS) and then Part B requires the production of an academic poster – in which the team visually explains the solution they have come up with, to a geographic problem in South Africa, having used GIS. In 2022, our pilot year, 330 pupils from 32 schools (including 48 teachers) are taking part. SAGTA hopes to launch the South African GIS Olympiad (SAGISO), an offshoot of the GDSC in 2023.

This year, as a pilot of SAGISO, the best posters per province will be submitted for evaluation – the most impressive poster winning the SAGISO for 2022! The triumphant team will receive prizes from various sponsors and attend a virtual FOSS4G Conference in Kosovo, to present their poster at an online GIS conference. For more information about the GDSC, please contact Dr Clinton van der Merwe – [email protected] or visit the SAGTA website: www.sagta.org.za.