Geospatial Technology Skills Competition
The National GeoTech Center of Excellence is pleased to announce the 2018 Undergraduate Geospatial Technology Skills Competition! The competition intends to showcase the geospatial technology skills of U.S. undergraduate students. Competing students will create a project that utilizes geospatial technology to address a real-world problem. The student will then present the project and the resulting deliverables as a Poster that not only highlights their use of geospatial technology but also demonstrates their communication and presentation skills. The competition is software neutral.
Eligibility
Applicants must meet all of the requirements below to qualify for the competition (questions regarding eligibility can be directed to either Tom Mueller ([email protected]).
Eligibility
Applicants must meet all of the requirements below to qualify for the competition (questions regarding eligibility can be directed to either Tom Mueller ([email protected]).
- Applicants must be the age of 18 or older;
- Applicants must be enrolled during the Spring 2018 term in a geospatial technology course (e.g., geographic information systems, remote sensing, GPS/GNSS, etc.) or geospatial technology program at an accredited 2-year or 4-year U.S. institution (undergraduate status);
- Applicants must reside in the U.S.;
- All work and cartographic output must be the original work of the applicant;
- Only one entry allowed per student; and
- Only individual student submissions permitted (no group projects).
Judging Criteria
Criteria will be updated shortly. Please check back at a later date.
Criteria will be updated shortly. Please check back at a later date.
Professional Development Opportunity for the Winners
The winners will be awarded registration, travel, and accommodations to the 2018 GeoEd Conference in Louisville, Kentucky. The winners will also present their posters at this conference.
The winners will be awarded registration, travel, and accommodations to the 2018 GeoEd Conference in Louisville, Kentucky. The winners will also present their posters at this conference.
- Due April 20th at 1:00 pm (Eastern)
- There will be 3 to 4 winners.
- It is anticipated that two of the student finalists will be from two-year colleges and one to two from four-year institutions. The exact split will depend upon the number of students who enter the competition and the quality of the work submitted (judges also reserve the right to invite fewer student finalists).
Project Design, Organization, and Analysis (60 points)
To receive all points in this area, the project must include the following sections.
Introduction (5 points)
Data sources must be well documented including, if necessary, permissions for use. Project data that is downloaded from the internet must include the date of the data as well as the date that the URL was accessed and/or the date the data was downloaded. Field data that was collected as part of the project must be identified with the date of collection.
To receive all points in this area, the project must include the following sections.
Introduction (5 points)
- Project has a title
- Project’s geographic area is clearly defined
- Project stakeholders are identified
- Project goals and objectives are stated
- Project helps solve a real-world problem and/or has real-world application (briefly describe)
- Source of data layers is explained (i.e., created vs. downloaded).
- Challenges related to data preparation are presented
- Discussion of types of data is included (formats, coordinate systems, etc.)
- Discussion of types of software used (software, extensions, APIs, etc.)
- Data analysis types are discussed (what types and why?)
- Challenges encountered during analysis explained
- Describe how project helps solve a real-world problem and/or has real-world application
- Explanation of additional types of analysis that could be used in the future
- Summarize your project
- Application of geospatial technology (10 Points)
- The project uses at least two technologies or applications related to geospatial, e.g., GIS, GPS, remote sensing, mobile GIS, web-based GIS, etc.
- Presentation quality (20 Points)
- Poster presentation is clear
- Poster presentation is well-organized
- Poster presentation is within time limit
- Poster presentation makes use of cartographic output (and/or the use of tables or graphs)
- Poster presentation highlights project deliverable/outputs, and they are easily readable within the Poster
- All data was used with permission and attribution as to its source*
Data sources must be well documented including, if necessary, permissions for use. Project data that is downloaded from the internet must include the date of the data as well as the date that the URL was accessed and/or the date the data was downloaded. Field data that was collected as part of the project must be identified with the date of collection.