GI-education: the impact of EduMapping

Abstract

The creation of a European Higher Education Area during the last 20 years has resulted in a considerable degree of harmonization when it comes to the structure of higher education in the European countries. With regard to geoinformation (GI) education, less progress has been made. Formats for course and curriculum descriptions vary per organization and languages vary per country. For the described content a central reference on domain level seems absent. The reference documents published in the United States (2006: the Geographic Information Science and Technology Body of Knowledge, 2010: Geospatial Technology Competency Model) have not yet been widely accepted in Europe, but seem useful. The EduMapping method aims at concisely characterizing GI course or curriculum content in a label, to be added to existing descriptions. This paper points at a role for EduMapping as a connection between the European multinational and multilingual situation and the American reference potential. Application of EduMapping might help Europe to achieve the objectives of the Europe 2020 Strategy