Members of Esri South Africa gave a guest lecture to students of the third year course, GIS 310, on Wednesday 05 May. It is always a privilege to have members of industry speak to our students. Students were exposed to the latest in GIS technology, in this case Esri technology. With ArcGIS Pro 2.8 due to be released in July this year, students were shown what the new version of Pro is capable of.

Verosha Naidoo, who is the University of Pretoria's contact person at Esri South Africa spoke to the students on how they can get in touch and keep up to date with latest developments and resources. Liezel Botha, the Geospatial Technology Lead at Esri South Africa, spoke to the students on what the software (and GIS in general) can be used for, giving practical examples. Portia Mnikathi, who is currently an Intern at Esri South Africa, spoke to the students on how she became an Intern, and what she is currently working on. Portia is one of our recent graduates, having completed her undergraduate studies with the Department in 2020. Her talk gave the students a unique insight on what they can expect after graduation.

Students attending the guest lecture.	Students listening to Liezel Botha speak.
Verosha Naidoo and Liezel Botha speaking to students of GIS 310.	Liezel Botha showing students practical applications of GISc using Esri technology.
Portia Mnikathi, one of our recent graduates, speaking to students on her recent internship at Esri South Africa.	Portia Mnikathi, Liezel Botha, and Verosha Naidoo (f.l.t.r.) from Esri South Africa.

Covid-19 restrictions meant students had to sit at designated places in the lecture venue. However, the venue has excellent acoustics (thanks, UP!) and the presenters could be heard well no matter where students sat. Those that were unable to join in person joined the session online.

The Department would like to thank the presenters and Esri South Africa for taking the time to speak to our students, especially given the difficulties of logistics that the current pandemic imposes.