[OSGeo Africa] What software is currently used in South Africa tertiary institutions
Zoltan Szecsei
zoltans at geograph.co.za
Sun Mar 10 23:48:21 PDT 2024
Hi Sindile,
Your comment, now in brown italics below, refers.
People who need to use GIS SW as used by whatever client they have, have
likely been through many different SW products (and clients).
Yes, that likely makes them 'master of none', but it also means that
if/when they understand the problems to be solved, they know what to
look for in the SW that has been "thrust upon them".
My take on your comment below is that perhaps the corporate planners
need to look at the issue differently.
* It is FAR more useful to select/hire staff that have long and
broad, practical experience _in the workings and needs of the
department_.
SW is a tool - knowing the SW but not knowing (enough of) the
problems to solve, is extremely 'not useful'.
A good, well experienced Geo-spatial professional should have no
problem finding the resources to implement a solution on any mature
SW platform.
So my thoughts to aspiring GISc Practitioners is to focus on
understanding how the buttons do what they "say" they do, and not the
"order of the buttons to push" when implementing a solution.
It really is the difference between GIS and GISc
I suppose that what I am trying to say is:
Wouldn't it be nice if planners and HR staff focused on abilities
actually needed for a job position and not "years of SW usage stated
on the CV".
On a related issue, it is all too often that accountants and upper
managers decide on corporate strategy.
These guys typically choose large, long-standing companies to source SW
from - their Linus [not Torvalds🙂] blanket being that the company will
'always' be there to hold to account any problems they (that company)
might be deemed to have caused.
The reality is that these larger companies are sometimes harder to get
a response from.
So, given that Open Source is perceived to have no one directly
responsible for it, it makes it even more difficult to get the powers
that be to choose it above a large corporate offering.
I live in hope that perceptions will change, but..., well..., not yet.
OK...I'm rambling so will "shut up" now 🙂
Keep well,
Zoltan
On 2024/03/11 08:57, Sindile Bidla wrote:
> Hi Zoltan,
>
> Thank you for your response and it is quite useful
>
> The context to my question is the following comment:
>
> "Most government departments and institutes of higher learning use
> proprietary software and most GIS practitioners were trained on
> proprietary software such that more GIS professionals are more
> experienced in proprietary software than open source software.
> Therefore, /it might be challenging for municipalities to recruit
> candidates with relevant experience in open-source software./"
>
> This arose in the context of developing a corporate GIS implementation
> plan, where the option of using proprietary and free and open source
> tools was presented.
>
> I also lean towards the view that what software tool you learn at
> university is irrelevant, as a result I thought let me ask on this list.
>
> Regards,
> Sindile
>
>
>
>
>
> On Mon, 11 Mar 2024 at 00:32, Zoltan Szecsei via Africa
> <africa at lists.osgeo.org> wrote:
>
> Hi Sindile,
> If you state the reason for your query, you might get more useful
> or relevant answers.
>
> (So lets see how useful my response is 😕 )
>
> One does not go to a learning institution (as in University) to
> learn a SW product.
> The usage of any SW product is incidental to what you are being
> taught.
> (So prior knowledge of which SW they base their studies upon, is
> not useful to you)
> To learn a product, go to the product supplier.
>
> If your query to this list is because you want to register with
> SAGC, then:
> (Register as "In Training" before you start/continue your studies.)
>
> * If you have not started studying, pick an SAGC accredited course.
> * If you are partially through your studies, then look on the
> SAGC website to find a Table with the required course
> *_content_* as needed for the different types and levels of
> registration.
> o Compare the *_content_* of your completed courses against
> the content required for registration.
> o From this you will see what _*content*_ (and subjects) you
> are missing and thus need to complete before you can register.
> o Then choose appropriate courses to gain credits in your
> missing content.
>
>
> Hope this helps.
>
> Kind regards,
> Zoltan
>
>
>
>
> On 2024/03/10 11:27, Sindile Bidla via Africa wrote:
>> Hello List,
>>
>> Does anyone know what software is used by various South African
>> tertiary institutions that offer a qualification in GIS whether
>> it is accredited by SAGC or not.
>> Are students exposed to both desktop and server tools during
>> their studies?
>>
>> An internet search revealed the following institutions offer GIS
>> in their curricula
>>
>> SAGC Accredited
>> University of Cape Town
>> University of Stellenbosch
>> University of Pretoria
>> Cape Peninsula University of Technology
>>
>> Others
>> University of Johannesburg
>> University of South Africa
>> University of Venda
>> University of Fort Hare
>> Nelson Mandela University
>> University of KwaZulu Natal
>> University of Free State
>> North West University
>> University of Witwatersrand
>>
>> Thank you for your feedback.
>>
>> Regards,
>> Sindile
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Africa mailing list
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>
> --
>
> =============================================
> Zoltan Szecsei GPrGISc 0031
> Director, Geograph (Pty) Ltd.
> GIS and Photogrammetric Services
>
> Cape Town, South Africa.
>
> Mobile: +27-83-6004028 (Signal, not WhatsApp)
> +974-5058-8729
> +36-20-4808362
>
> www.geograph.co.za <http://www.geograph.co.za>
> =============================================
>
> _______________________________________________
> Africa mailing list
> Africa at lists.osgeo.org
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>
--
=============================================
Zoltan Szecsei GPrGISc 0031
Director, Geograph (Pty) Ltd.
GIS and Photogrammetric Services
Cape Town, South Africa.
Mobile: +27-83-6004028 (Signal, not WhatsApp)
+974-5058-8729
+36-20-4808362
www.geograph.co.za
=============================================
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