Due to the suspension of contact classes and the rescheduling of the academic calendar, the Geospatial Information and Mapping Service has suspended CONTACT services until further notice.

However, the Geospatial Information and Mapping Service remains committed to providing mapping and analysis services to staff and students where possible. Please note that the Service will continue to function within the given hours (Wednesday & Thursdays 09:00-16:00). The service will continue to provide the following services but please take note of the logistics and changes to each:

Site mapping services
Site mapping services will still be offered (during the consultation times). Please note that the provision of contour lines may prove difficult without direct access to the University server and the disruption of remote access by load shedding. However, scaled site maps can be created using ESRI Imagery. Staff and students are asked to provide specific (realistic) details of the site maps requested and the maps will be generated and emailed to the requester.

Publication mapping services
Publication mapping services will still be offered (within the consultation times). Please note that the provision of particular datasets may prove difficult without direct access to the University server and the disruption of remote access by load shedding. Staff and students are asked to provide specific (realistic) details of the publication maps requested and the maps (and invoices) will be generated and emailed to the requester.

ArcGIS licensing
Unfortunately, ArcMap Desktop licenses cannot be administered off-campus and as such, no licenses or installation will be available. ArcGIS Pro can be administered but not installed remotely. To request a license please email Ms Lauren Pijper [email protected] and provide your full name, student/staff number and a reason for requesting a license. Please note that licenses are only issued to UP staff and students and only for academic purposes.

Access to software
Please see the attached document with regards to open-source software. These products are free and this is the time to experience the benefits of utilising open-source software.

Access to data
Unfortunately, there will be no access to the //prhgeonas01 server for those off-campus. That being said, there are multiple sources of spatial data that can be found online. We encourage using this time to investigate the availability of open data. Please consult respective licenses for terms and conditions of using such data. The attached document contains useful links to open data. Please be advised that this is not a comprehensive list and that there are multiple other reliable and useful sources available. For the latest version of this document you can access the list of recommended data sources at https://bit.ly/3bCv3uY. For a list of recommended GIS products please visit https://bit.ly/2UQEBf5.

Any questions or requests can be directed to Ms Lauren Pijper ([email protected])