As geospatial practitioners in the developed world struggle with data management issues, and the challenges of keeping software updated with the latest releases, it’s helpful to see a developing world perspective in order to understand more profound challenges. There’s a story in the Sri Lankan Daily Mirror today that outlines the challenges of students in the geomatics program at Sabaragamuwa University:
- there aren’t enough teachers or space to contain the 180 students, so one group has to always wait outside
- there aren’t sufficient resources for field work or lab work
- the students have been promised computing infrastructure and a dedicated building for four years, but it has yet to materialize
