First-year students in the Department of Geography, Geoinformatics and Meteorology’s introductory cartography module (GMC 110) received an eye-opening presentation from Esri South Africa, demonstrating the many and multidisciplinary applications of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and geospatial science. he session was led by UP alumnus, Danika Saayman, who holds undergraduate and honours degrees in Geoinformatics from the department. Addressing a diverse class that included students from fields ranging from computer science and chemistry to engineering and town planning, Danika’s presentation was designed to show how geospatial science underpins all their respective disciplines and offers powerful tools for their future careers.

The presentation covered cutting-edge applications, including the concept of Digital Twins for complex urban planning, the power of Dashboards for real-time monitoring and decision-making, advanced techniques like 3D feature extraction using platforms such as Hugging Face, critical applications like risk modelling for natural disasters, such as flooding, practical uses, from detailed mapping and the application of GNSS technology in professional soccer to the role of Outsurance traffic wardens in using geospatial data to reduce traffic accidents. A core message of the session was the fundamental importance of asking critical questions in spatial data analysis.

Adding to the engagement, Verosha Naidoo from Esri South Africa provided valuable information to the future graduates, outlining the various career opportunities available at the company, including local internship programmes and the YES programme.

The informative session successfully reinforced the notion that geospatial science is not a niche field but an indispensable component of today's technology-driven world. The Department of Geography, Geoinformatics and Meteorology extends its sincere gratitude to Esri South Africa for dedicating their time to speak with the GMC 110 students and illustrating the possibilities within the geospatial sciences.