The SpatialTrain Books on GeoSpatial Technologies (geomatics) and their practical implementation were published and launched on Tuesday 7 December 2022.
Four years in the making, with €900K of funding, a new Geomatics (GI) management stream, qualified training courses from certificate-diploma-degree-postgraduate levels and a veritable network of GI-specialists within and across the physical, natural and social environment domains.
The ESF.04.071 Spatial Train Scholarships Scheme project, led by the Planning Authority, was part-financed by the European Social Fund (ESF) under the Operational Programme II Cohesion Policy 2014-2020, “Investing in human capital to create more opportunities and promote the well-being of society”.
The Spatial Train project provided tertiary education in the field of geospatial technology (geomatics) to the public administration within government entities. Training was offered to public administration employees on spatial data technologies and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in the Maltese islands in a dedicated and coherent manner. This aimed to increase the technical skills of public officials with respect to the use of spatial data and to improve utilisation of public resources in the field of geomatics.
Awarded by the Planning and Priorities Co-ordination Division (PPCD), the project brought together different entities that partook to spatial information during the past decades in their efforts to push GIS to its fruition. Spatial Train sought to deliver the training and research component in a veritable adventure aimed at bringing together all-spatial data related entities within one single data transfer and sharing core, whilst identifying those knowledge lacunae and morphing it to ensure delivery in governance, operational functionality and academic research within a central GI core.
The Spatial Train Scholarships Scheme project was a first major step on a local level to provide accreditation of the public sector within the field of geomatics. It is expected that this will not be the last training initiative. Future dedicated training initiatives in the geomatics sector will continue to be required at the various qualification levels. Furthermore, projects which require cross-entity contributions will require sharing of dedicated knowledge in various aspects of geomatics. It is this type of contribution which should provide the impetus for a national spatial initiative. It is the integration of the knowledge gained, data sharing and standards which will contribute towards a national coherent effort in the field of spatial initiatives.