Geomatics institute engages diaspora based professionals

THE Zimbabwe Institute of Geomatics (ZIG) is engaged in a program that allows geomatics professionals based in the diaspora to transfer their skills back home.

Wilson Mhuri, Zimbabwe Institute of Geomatics president

ZIG president, Wilson Mhuri, said in an interview that the country had many professionals in the sector who were based all over the world and whose skills as well as exposure could benefit the country.

“We are not limiting our membership geographically. We have members in the Western world, in America, Africa as well as Asia. This helps us to benefit from the technology they are exposed to,” Mhuri said.

He said that ZIG had established a platform called Geo-Chat coordinated by its Geomatics Youth Network to enable interaction between the foreign based professionals, local experts and students/graduates.

“This Geo-Chat hosts international players including non-Zimbabweans,” Mhuri said.

Geomatics is characterized by the use of state of the art technologies and gadgets.

Over the years Zimbabwe has seen a huge exodus of different professionals and Mhuri believes that the country can benefit from these people even without them having to relocate to the country.

Today ZIG will be holding a conference on smart cities themed ‘Enhancing the Optimal Quality and Performance of Urban Services through Geomatics’. The conference is part of ZIG’s annual Geomatics Awareness Week.

“ZIG is a professional body that seek to contribute meaningful professional service to the infrastructural development of Zimbabwe. In this vain, we seek to present the contribution of geomatics practitioners in public works projects highlighting the need for work reservation, support and promotion of local skills in national development,” a statement from the institute explains.

Geomatics is a broad array of disciplines which focus on the science, art and technology of the collection, processing, interpretation, management and dissemination of location based information. These disciplines include but are not limited to Cadastral (boundary) Surveying, Engineering Surveying, Mine Surveying, Topographical Surveying, Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing, and GIS.

ZIG has a membership of more than 400 people.