Commission 2
NEWSLETTER, May 1998
Dear Colleagues
The FIG Congress is just ahead of us to be held in Brighton UK, 19-25 July 1998,
and I trust that I will meet almost all of you at this important event.
The Congress represents the highlight of the period of office 1994-98 and it
represents the end of this period of office as well. I would like to take this
opportunity to update and summarize the work of the commission and at the same
time thank for you all for your interest and co-operation.
Commission 2 Programme at the FIG Congress in Brighton, 19-25 July 1998
A very interesting programme has been prepared for the Commission 2 sessions
at the Brighton Congress. The programme is organised to reflect the Commission 2
work plan. There will be sessions dedicated to each of the four working groups
and there will be a general session for discussing the current educational
policies and the results of Commission 2 as well as strategies for the future
work. There will also be a number of joint sessions (with commission 1,3,4,5 and
7) and there will be a special session to present current educational
developments in member countries. In total, Commission 2 will present 35 papers.
This is the largest Commission 2 has ever organised for a Congress. I am sure
that all participants will find this high-profile programme interesting and
enjoyable. A copy of the programme is enclosed.
The Commission 2 programme also includes two options for technical tours to the
Dartford Campus of the University of Greenwich (School of Land and Construction
Management) and the University College London (Department of Photogrammetry and
Surveying). The Tours are scheduled for Friday 24 July.
Commission 2 Delegate Meeting in Brighton
A working meeting for the Commission 2 delegates is planned for Tuesday 21
July at 13.00 in our Commission Room. The main objective of the meeting will
be to discuss the draft work plan for the period of office 1998-2002 prepared by
our vice-chair prof. Kirsi Artimo. The draft work plan will be disseminated with
the PC- agenda papers and includes a number of interesting issues and
perspectives for the future work of the Commission. The meeting should generate
the focus of the work areas for the next period of office and all delegates are
encouraged to participate and take part in the discussions. You may also contact
Kirsi Artimo in advance by E-mail >kirsi.artimo@hut.fi<.
"You will get as much out of it as you put in to it". This old saying is
certainly valid for international work such as in FIG.
New Guidelines for Commission Delegates
The FIG Bureau has issued new "Guidelines for FIG member associations and
their Commission Delegates". These enclosed guidelines highlight the importance
and expectation of appointed delegates to be active and to contribute whenever
possible to all FIG activities. The guidelines also state that member
associations should support the attendance of their delegates to FIG activities.
These guidelines underpin the crucial role of the commission delegates to the
full scale work of FIG. I believe that these guidelines should be seen as a very
important statement as it identifies the responsibilities of the member
associations and of the delegates whom they appoint to commissions. Hopefully,
the guidelines may help to develop the FIG working weeks as the main platform
for involving the national delegates of the commissions.
Improving the Surveying Education Database
As many of you may know, Commission 2 has launched the Surveying Education
Database on the Internet (address: http:// www.i4.auc.dk/sedb). The
database includes more than 40 countries and informs about the structure and
contents of about 300 surveying courses at university level throughout the
world. More detailed information on each course can then be achieved through a
link to the relevant university home page. All delegates of Commission 2 are
encouraged to support this database by providing the relevant and up-to-date
information.
The purpose of the database is threefold: (i) to facilitate international
exchange and co-operation; (ii) to underpin the identity of surveying education
against international bodies such as UNESCO etc., and (iii) to serve as a proof
of the wide range of surveying courses and number of surveying students
throughout the world.
The database has been very well received. However, the future success of the
database will depend on the validity of the data included, and the current
updating procedures does not seem to be sufficient in this regard. It is
currently investigated how to organise the updating process in a way which makes
the individual educational institution responsible for the validity of the data
through an on-line access.
Academic Members of FIG is introduced
A new kind of FIG-members will be introduced at the General Assembly in
Brighton. The proposed new statutes will invite Surveying Institutions to be
"Academic Members"of FIG and thereby become more closely involved with and
contribute to the work of the Federation. As a benefit of this membership the
institution may also be offered an enlarged presentation in Surveying Education
Database.
All delegates of Commission 2 are encouraged to promote this idea at their
national educational institutions. The concept will enlarge the educational
commitment of FIG and make a dynamic contribution to the future development of
our profession. This will be for the benefit of national institutions of
surveying education and for the benefit of the international surveying community
as a whole.
Announcement for Commission 2 Seminar in Wuhan, China, 14-16 October 1998.
As agreed during the FIG working in Singapore Commission 2 will organise a
seminar to be held in the Asian region at Wuhan Technical University of
Surveying and Mapping. The seminar will be conducted by Prof. Liu Yanfang, the
Chinees delegate to Commission 2. The announcement and call for papers has been
disseminated at an earlier stage and is enclosed to this newsletter as well. The
seminar will focus on University Curricula, Quality Systems, Teaching Methods,
Land Management, and general Development of Educational Concepts for Surveying
and Mapping. The seminar will provide an unique opportunity to be acquainted
with and to develop surveying education in the Asian region and to develop
surveying education concepts in general.
Commission 2 is grateful to Wuhan Technical University of Surveying and Mapping
and to prof. Liu Yanfang for hosting this seminar and it is highly recommended
for all Commission 2 delegates to participate. Next to the high professional
profile the seminar will also offer a post conference tour at the famous Three
Gorges of Yangtze River.
Please study the enclosed announcement and please contact Prof. Liu Yangang for
further information and registration. Email: >yfliu@dns.wtusm.edu.cn<. Deadline for
papers is 31 August 1998.
FIG Permanent Office to be established in Copenhagen, Denmark
As a result of the PC Meeting in Singapore it was decided to establish a FIG
permanent Office at the Surveyors house in Copenhagen, Denmark. The Permanent
Office will be staffed with a Director of Administration and a half time
employed personal assistant and will be in force from 1 January 1999. This new
FIG institution will provided an new era for FIG to act as a fully mature NGO.
The Permanent Office will also act as a key facilitator for the work of the
commissions and as the key information centre of FIG.
Review of the work of Commission 2 1994-98
The current profile of the Commission and the results achieved is presented
in my keynote paper "The Educational Policies of FIG - Report of FIG Commission
2 1994-98" to be presented at the first Commission 2 session in Brighton. A copy
of the paper is enclosed.
The work plan for the current period of office was focused on issues identified
as representing some of the main educational challenges facing the international
surveying community. The working groups has been very active in investigating
these issues and some major results have been achieved. Among these should be
mentioned the report on Continuing Professional Development which was issued as
FIG publication no 15 in September 1996; the Surveying Education Database which
was launched at the PC meeting in Singapore May 1997; and the report on Quality
Assurance in Surveying Education which is prepared for adoption at PC meeting in
Brighton. A further report on Management Skills will be prepared for adoption at
the PC meeting in South Africa, May 1999. Furthermore, Commission officers have
been active in providing institutional support of developing countries; and in
building a worldwide surveying education network through participation a number
of seminars throughout the world.
The Commission Chairman is very grateful to all commission officers and all
delegates involved for the results achieved. The "team-spirit" developed has
been very stimulating and very promising for the future work. Thank you to you
all. To me it has been great fun as well.
Looking to the future
It is recommended that the focused approach of the Commission should
continue. The work areas of the Commission should be identified and stated in
such a way that results can be achieved within the four-year period of term.
However, some efforts such as international networking, international exchange,
and support of developing countries should be seen as ongoing projects to
fulfill the overall objective of Commission 2.
I am sure that Kirsi Artimo, my designated successor, will follow this track and
also lead the Commission successfully into the next millennium. There is no
doubt that Kirsi will conduct the Commission in a professional and elegant way -
as was the case at the Commission 2 seminar in Helsinki, September 1996. I wish
Kirsi Artimo and the officers of Commission 2 the best of success in their work
during the next period of office.
Finally, I would like once again to express my thanks to all officers and
delegates who have devoted their work to our Commission. Personal contact,
commitment and cooperation are the main keys to innovation and international
progress. I am looking forward to see all the friends of Commission 2 in
Brighton.
Kind regards
Yours sincerely
Stig Enemark
Chairman of FIG Commission 2
