[OSGeo-Discuss] Certification commitee

[Helton Uchoa]

Hi Venka,

The initial idea of certification is define a way to qualify 
professionals. This can be made through some kind of test, for example.
The training (course) is the way to prepare a candidate to make (obtain) 
a certification.

We need define a cooparation with shared responsabilities, to exist 
integration between OSGeo and commercial companies:
- OSGeo: certification program
- Commercial companies or others institutions: training

My suggestion is (in the first step) define only one software to 
certification ("prototype"). After this, It will be more easy define 
anothers certifications. (break the problem in more simple parts)

[]s

Uchoa

Venkatesh Raghavan wrote:

> Dear All,
>
> I reproduce some of the points from our earlier discussion.
> Hope they are of some use in the present context.
>
> a)    What are the objectives of the courses?
> The main focus would be on providing a solid foundation on 
> Geoinformatics technology using OSGEO tools as a means of enhancing 
> learning.
>
> b)    Who will be the actual customer? Is it the individual who pays 
> for the course or would it be the institution or organisation which 
> would ultimately employ our graduates?
> We can think of regular and corporate sponsored.  Also focus on 
> tailor-made courses. Direct marketing to potential clients would 
> require lot of efforts. Maybe we need to think of providing packaged 
> educational solutions (franchising) to institutions and universities.
>
> c)    Which kind of institutions/companies would employ our graduates?
> Geoinformatics industry, Government Institutions, NPO, NGO, 
> Self-employed,
> Geo-contents service providers etc.
>
> d)    What would be the entry strategy? Will it be with high end 
> courses or low end courses – i.e. in terms of pricing, content, etc?
> We have to see what is presently available and at what cost. Most of 
> info available from Google Search are summarized at 
> http://www.institute.redlands.edu/kemp/ certificates.html#Related. 
> Details of two institutions presently offering courses in India are 
> http://www.gisinstitute.net/ and 
> http://www.symbiosissociety.org/sig/home.htm. One example from 
> Thailand is available at http://www.gac.ait.ac.th. Pricing info at the 
> above Asian sites could be a reference.
>    The course contents have to be decided after more discussions. I 
> think the course should be modular introduced in a phased manner 6-8 
> weeks
>
> Level 1: Introduction to GIS and Web Mapping Technologies
>        Basically how to install, use, producing maps using
>        OSGEO tools
>        Completion of this level will result in certification as “XXXYYY
>        Certified OSGEO Application User”
> Level 2: Geo-spatial database development
>        Open data standards, Remote Sensing, GPS, mobile data logging 
> systems,
>        RDBMS. Completion of this level could result in certification 
> as “XXXYYY
>        Certified OSGEO Database Manager”
> Level 3: Advanced Module for Application Developers
>        Spatial data analysis using GRASS, Web GIS application 
> development,using
>        Mapserver Script languages, PHP, Javascript
>        Completion of this level could result in certification as “XXXYYY
>        Certified OSGEO Application Developer”
> Level 4: Advanced Module for Software Developers
>        Developing Geoinformatics software and cross-platform GIS 
> solutions
>        GRASS Libraries, Data Exchange Libraries, C programming, Cygwin,
>        Qt, Mingw,  Plug-in development for QGIS. Software packaging 
> (RPM etc.)
>        Completion of this level will result in certification as “XXXYYY
>        Certified Geoinfromatics Engineer”
>
> Option to get a Master degree after completion for 4 Levels and 
> conducting project research (in 16 to 18 weeks) could also be 
> considered at a later stage.
>
> What kind of a market would the graduates have?
>
> institutional, private sector organizations, international.
> Geoinformatics industry, Government Institutions, NPO, NGO, 
> Self-employed , Geo-contents service providers etc.
>
>
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