COVID-19 responses and FIG2020: lessons for Surveying EducationFIG Commission 2: Professional EducationBy Associate Professor David Mitchell, Chair of FIG Commission 2 "The focus of FIG Commission 2 is on innovative and effective professional education and training for surveyors. This article summarises the key Commission 2 highlights in the FIG2020 papers, and reflects on the impact of COVID-19 on surveying education.During 2020, there have been significant developments in surveying professional education due to the COVID-19 restrictions. Globally, many surveying academic institutions were required to adapt to these restrictions by moving their learning and teaching completely online. This has presented a range of challenges as we grappled with which learning management system and video communications platforms we would use. We considered how to reach those students without adequate internet connection or with poor ICT quality. We considered the implications for those tasks that were heavily based around face-to-face contact – for example field practical projects, computer lab sessions, and cartographic design projects.Out of this has come some excellent lessons for blended learning and we should take the opportunity to capture lessons and share the experiences with others. This presents an opportunity for discussions in webinars later in 2020, as well as for the FIG Working Week in 2021."
The focus of FIG Commission 2 is on innovative and effective professional education and training for surveyors. This involves curriculum development, innovations in teaching and learning, life-long learning, attracting new students, and continuing professional development (CPD). A key aim of this term is to update the FIG Commission 2: FIG Publication No. 46. Enhancing Surveying Education through e-Learning with a focus on “Blended Learning” and better understanding how to combine face-to-face (f2f) and e-learning approaches. We seek to understand how current students best learn, good practices in e-learning, and in blending f2f and e-learning approaches for both teaching and training. Commission 2 work plan is delivered largely by the three working groups: Working Group 2.1 - Developing
academic networks for knowledge sharing. Commission 2 promotes high quality professional education that is fundamental to the aspirations of FIG2020 – “Smart surveyors for land and water management”. Most FIG2020 Commission 2 technical session papers contribute to the sub-theme “Smart Surveyors”, others illustrate the importance of educating surveying students about the major global drivers including the SDGs. These papers are relevant to the sub-theme “Ten years to go to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals”. During 2020, there have been significant developments in surveying professional education due to the COVID-19 restrictions. Globally, many surveying academic institutions were required to adapt to these restrictions by moving their learning and teaching completely online. This has presented a range of challenges as we grappled with which learning management system and video communications platforms we would use. We considered how to reach those students without adequate internet connection or with poor ICT quality. We considered the implications for those tasks that were heavily based around face-to-face contact – for example field practical projects, computer lab sessions, and cartographic design projects. Out of this has come some excellent lessons for blended learning and we should take the opportunity to capture lessons and share the experiences with others. This presents an opportunity for discussions in webinars later in 2020, as well as for the FIG Working Week in 2021. What were the highlights of the Commission 2 technical sessions?Commission 2 was very well represented with five technical sessions and 28 papers submitted. While several papers were global in nature, it was pleasing to receive papers on surveying education good practice with examples from all regions (nine from Europe, six from Asia and the Pacific, two from Africa, and one from North America). Themes explored were innovative approaches to teaching (6 papers), blended learning (5 papers), curriculum development (3 papers), and exploring strengthening academic networks (3 papers). Commission 2 overarches the other commissions who also are interested in education. Most of the other commissions were represented in the education topics covered with eight papers related to Commission 7, seven to Commission 3, five to Commission 5, four to Commission 8, and one to Commission 9. TS01A: Blended Learning and Innovations in Professional EducationThis session highlights innovative practices in blended learning. The papers submitted were written before the outbreak of COVID-19 and so reflect the practice at that time. They provide a useful base to reflect on how our approaches to online learning have changed due to our responses to COVID-19. There are seven papers in this session, with two providing high level discussion on blended learning for life-long learning generally, and through a case study in Indonesia. Other papers provide case studies of innovation through using the “Universal Design for Learning” framework, online learning using smart phones, using cartographic tasks and geodetic exercises to aid learning in C++ programming, and incorporating BIM in surveying programs.
TS02A: Innovation in Professional Education in EuropeThis session highlights innovative practices in
Europe. These include how education is evolving,
institutional approaches, the use of technologies in
teaching, approaches to curriculum, and the role of
industry in education.
TS04A: Regional Academic Networks and CPD
/Innovation in Professional Education
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The papers discussed strengthening CPD to ensure
international alignment of competencies, scaling up
academic networks in Africa to support knowledge
exchange and collaboration, and programs to “get
Kids into Survey”. Regional academic networks are
important in collaboratively improving curricula,
promoting innovations in education, facilitating
collaborative teaching and learning through staff
and student exchange, and collaborative research
writing and community outreach. However, capacity
building in academic networks needs to be ongoing. |
Since the FIG Working Week in Christchurch the UN FAO and FIG have held a joint “Academic Forum” in the yearly Working Weeks and Congresses. This is a very important ongoing Commission 2 partnership and collaboration with UN FAO. The 2019 session was planned as a series of presentations and a floor discussion on how land administration and land management (based on the VGGT) can help address land degradation, soil erosion and desertification through showcasing case studies. It was anticipated that this session would explore three questions:
The aim was a better understanding on possible ways and opportunities to strengthen university research and continuous professional development courses in informing surveyors about their role on how surveying and spatial data (e.g. maps, cartography) play a key role for achieving sustainable LM. In addition, it will help to identify good practices and lessons learnt based on the VGGT framework, including in Land Administration (LA)/Land Management (LM) instruments to address Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN).
Current educational programmes in land
administration (and related subjects) must adapt in
a responsible way to support global challenges
consistent with international goals and instruments.
Understanding all forms of land tenure systems is
needed to ensure locally realistic or
fit-for-purpose development outcomes. Also important
is ensuring that land administration education can
bridge the divide on health-land nexus of
development at different levels. These are the bases
for the emerging concept of Responsible Land
Administration structured teaching materials being
prepared by the International Training and Research
Cluster of the Global Land Tool Network (GLTN) in
collaboration with FIG Commission 2.
A special session entitled, A structured foundation for teaching and training land actors in responsible land administration, was scheduled during the cancelled FIG Working Week 2020 in Amsterdam. The papers submitted focus on (i) core values and principles of RLA, (ii) land tenure security, RLA is practice, land policies and regulatory frameworks, and participatory land-use planning and management.
Conceptual Framework for Responsible Land
Administration (Source: Grenville Barnes)
The papers support the rollout of the already developed structured teaching essentials to enable universities and research institutes hosting land administration (and related programmes at the diploma, bachelors and master levels) have access to updated teaching essentials for direct use in their classrooms or institutional curricula improvement. To ensure that these teaching essentials are effectively rolled out and accessible in 2020, plans to hold a webinar on the structured teaching essentials (e.g. conduct a webinar using Zoom or GoToWebinar) are under discussion. In the meantime, they are already accessible via the e-learning platform of GLTN (via https://elearning.gltn.net). The platform is a global platform that gives open-source access to courses and learning resources designed to help learners understand and use a selection of our land tools. The platform is device friendly (users can access anytime and, on any tablet, or smartphone device).
It is expected that more modules on responsible
land administration would be developed to ensure
that teaching materials are made readily available
to teachers and students globally. This is important
to ensure a more effective and result-oriented land
administration education around the world,
especially in developing countries.
Announcement upcoming events / meetings /
developments
Due to the COVID-19 restrictions in place, all Commission 2 events in 2020 will be online webinars.
As we reflect on the terrific lessons shared in
these FIG2020 papers, and how our approaches to
online learning have changed due to our responses to
COVID-19, we are in a unique position to move
forward in our use of blended learning. We have seen
rapid development in the online platforms and
technologies available and, more importantly, our
ability to use them to achieve effective learning.
We have also learned that there are a range of
learners who all learn differently. Not everyone is
suited to online learning, while some are more
comfortable learning only using online materials. A
key challenge we face is to develop approaches and
pathways that cater for these different learning
needs. As we head towards FIG 2021 (now planned for
Amsterdam) we need to capture our experiences and
discuss what this means for professional education
going forward. At that event there is an opportunity
to consider what professional education will look
like in the future.
FIG Working
Week 2020 Proceedings
FIG Surveyors Reference Library
FIG Peer Review Journal
FIG Publications
FIG Commission 2 Sessions:
FIG Commission 2 website:
 #FIG2020 /font> |
