Dear all,
Welcome to the blog for week one! Posting a comment and responding to one another's comments will give you 1% of the module marks per week. To gain the 1% you must post your comments by the Sunday of each week. In the case of this week it will be fine to have a few extra days (Tuesday of week 8) as it usually takes a few days to get everyone on to the blog.
The campus based students will be discussing the same issue with the distance learners.
This week (for 1%) I simply want you to introduce yourselves. Cover the following issues:
1. Distance learner or campus student
2. Name
3. GIS Experience (particularly programming experience)
4. Current work / study
5. Interests
6. Hopes for after the GIS course.
I will start the ball rolling!
My name is Paul McKenzie and I have been working/studying GIS for 15 years and teaching for 9 years. After completing my MSc I did a bit of e-tutoring before starting my PhD. I currently teach a wide variety of courses ranging from undergraduate and postgraduate courses in GIS to GIS short courses for secondary school teachers! I love running and am currently training for a few ultra marathons this year. I also like films, Johnny Cash and church activities (a weird mix I know)!
I look forward to reading your comments.
Paul
Hi Paul and everyone. Justin Senn here, a distance learner currently living in France near Geneva. I don't have much GIS experience outside the course, however I work in IT and have been programming for years. I work for UNHCR (the UN refugee agency) and hope to apply some of what I learn at work as much of the data we deal with has a geographical component. I've just moved to France after four years in Africa so my free time is spent settling in here and introducing my daughters to the ski slopes ;-)
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHi everyone! My name is Taynah Fernandes and I am a campus student. I am from Brazil and I am studying here Environmental Science for the year 2014/2015. Now I am participating of a program called Tutoring in Schools, where I introduce GIS in one school in NI. I love listen to music, dance and travel. Afther this course I hope to develop more GIS skills and improve my curriculum to do a masters degree.
ReplyDeleteHi, tutoring in schools sounds interesting, how did you get involved with that?
DeleteHi Fiona,
DeleteTutoring in Schools is a great scheme at Ulster University! It is a volunteering program whereby students go in to a school for 32 hours between February and May each year. During that time they can work with a teacher on any subject. We obviously have our students teaching GIS! We have reached well over 1,000 school pupils across 30 schools with GIS due to this scheme so it is brilliant. Here is a link if you want to know more: http://www.ulster.ac.uk/teachlearn/access/tis/
Paul
Hi all.
ReplyDeleteMy name is Ilva Prindule and I am doing this course as a part time distance learner. I live in Co. Down, Northern Ireland. I got interested in GIS when we were introduced to it in high school and got experience in it while I was studying natural sciences/geology. The first time I was working with GIS was for the Northern Ireland Environment Agency where I was organising and manipulating spatial and raw data for groundwater quality calculations. Also for a short period of time I was using ArcGIS to produce maps for local heritage presentations and promotional use. I have had a brief introduction in Visual Basic and web programming language. I love hiking, outdoor lifestyle, bird-watching, gardening, arts and crafts, reading scientific literature. After finishing this course I hope to have a career with GIS related field.
Hi all,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Marcos Moreu, distance learner from Spain currently living in UK. My background is in Mechanical Engineering. During my bachelor degree I had the opportunity to work in water supply related projects in central america in which GIS was an important tool. After this experience I am trying to focus my career in the field of GIS and remote sensing for watershed management. My experience in programming is quite limited, only a short module during my bachelor degree in which I was introduced to programming in C++.
I enjoy climbing, running, cooking, reading, food markets,...
I hope this course provide me an overview of the applications of programming for GIS related projects and also possible applications of programming for digital images analysis.
Hello everyone, my name is Aoife Lavery. I’m an online, part time student for this course (usually on campus though). I currently live in Belfast, having just returned from Bristol where I did my Undergrad in Geology. I have very little experience with GIS (or programming in general) beyond a basic introduction as part of my BSc, so I’m looking forward to learning and expanding my skill set, hoping to find myself in a GIS related role. I’m an outdoors type, into climbing, mountaineering, running and most of all travel!
ReplyDeleteHi all. I’m Vanessa Tebbitt and doing this course part-time through distance learning. I’m originally from County Wicklow but have been living in Santiago, Chile for the past 3 years. During my BSc in Geography I had a few modules in GIS and I used it in my final year dissertation. I have no programming experience whatsoever so looking forward to having an introduction in this module. I like running, reading and travelling although most of my spare time these days is spent with my 1 and a half year old daughter! I am currently teaching English here in Santiago but my hope is to work in a GIS-related field once I’ve finished the course.
ReplyDeleteHi Vanessa,
DeleteGlad to see that I'm not the only one with no programming experience. Keeping my fingers crossed its not to difficult to grasp the basics.
Fiona
Hi everyone,
ReplyDeleteI'm a distance learner and my name is Fiona McHardy.
I first used GIS on handheld Trimbles for collecting data. And all other GIS experience is from this course. I've no programming experience, so some of the language in this module is soundings very new.
I currently work on a project looking at the potential maximum cereal yields in Ireland (I work on the N.Ireland part of the project).
My interests were (before starting studying again) kayaking, hiking and swimming, anything outdoors. I try and fit as much in as possible and looking forward to the summer off, before starting my second year of the course.
My hopes for after the course or if possible just after the first year is to be able to start looking at jobs using my GIS skills, I'd like to do something which involves a mix on indoor and outdoor work. Any tips on finding a job in GIS would be greatfully accepted.
Fiona
Hello all,
ReplyDeletemy name is Eirini Simitzi, I come from Greece but currently I live in The Netherlands. I am a full time distance learner. I have some experience with GIS but not at all with programming, this is why I am really interested in this module. I hope after finishing the program to find a job related to GIS. At the moment, I spend most of my spare time trying to learn the Dutch language -which is btw really difficult! As for interests, I really enjoy travelling, designing and reading.
Eirini
Hey Everyone,
ReplyDeleteI'm Carl Armitage and i'm part time distance learning for this GIS programme. I'm originally from Liverpool but now live in South West London. I work in the security sector, studied Economics in Bristol at undergraduate level and I have used GIS on and off in my role as an Imagery Analyst for 7-8 years. Definitely not a programmer yet so really looking forward to getting fully involved in this module and learning new skills. I am a big sports fan and love any outside phys activity running, mountain walking, kayaking etc.
Carl
Hi Everyone,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Carol Dempsey and I am a full time student here in Coleraine. I recently graduated with an MPhil in Archaeology from University College Cork and have worked on various excavations across Ireland.
I'm close to finishing the course, 2 months and counting! And I am looking forward to combining my new found skills and with my knowledge of Irish Archaeology. I have absolutely no programming experience so this module is going to be a bit of an eye opener.
I enjoy being outside, playing camogie and gaelic football. And I’m known to try my hand at baking every so often.
My name is Elaine Wright. I am a distance learner as I live in Southend near London. I work in IT as a COBOL programmer. My GIS experience is from the last 3 modules. Hopefully, I will be able to change career on completing the GIS MSc.
ReplyDeleteMy interests are my family - I have 3 teenage children, and my pets - 2 dogs and 2 cats but I also like cooking, especially baking cakes.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHi every one. My name is Khalid Salihu. I am a full time campus student. Even though I had my first degree in Geography, honestly know little about the GIS content, what it entails and what ha-view, mostly the introductory part of it. Most of my GIS experience is from the modules I took in the last 6 months. Programming is another thing that I would have to learn also because I have absolutely no experience about it, I hope its going to be an interesting module. My interest is to be around my family and friends.
ReplyDeleteGood Afternoon everyone. My name is Paul Flood and I am a distance learner living in Walton on Thames in Surrey. I am originally from Northern Ireland (Belfast and Ballymena) and came to London 17 years ago to study GIS at Kingston University, much of which I have forgotten. I think I did some very basic programming "back in the day" but I can't remember what so I suspect it isn't going to serve me well and that I ought to consider myself a beginner for these purposes! I work at the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham where I manage the Local Land and Property Gazetteer, the Local Street Gazetteer and the Street Naming and Numbering service.I enjoy reading and cycling and eating out!
ReplyDeleteHi all. My name is Simon O'Connell. I am a 2nd semester distance learner. I grew up in North West London, but moved to Tonbridge, Kent about 12 years ago. I left school with 2 GCSEs, and went into various NVQ courses. I returned to study and started a degree in Landscape Management (Land Use) in 2009 as a so-called "mature" student, graduating in 2012. I decided to go for this course because I enjoyed the GIS module we did for the degree.
ReplyDeleteI have been many things over the years, including mechanic, landscaper and driving instructor, but seem to have settled into the world of IT procurement, which keeps me far busier than I would prefer, but it pays well!
Hi everyone,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Emma McGrath and I am a full time distance learner. I am from Tyrone in N. Ireland and I currently live in Liverpool, England. Since graduating from Queens I have been working as a pharmacist. Recently I have become self employed and work as locum to support myself while completing the course. Prior to the course I had no previous GIS experience, but I have always loved geography and science and thought through this course I will be able to combine the 2. At the moment I am completing my GIS work experience module with Cookstown District Council, and despite the commute from Liverpool each week I am enjoying it immensely. My interests include sport, fashion, movies, reading and socialising with my friends and family. I hope to complete the course to the best of my ability and secure a job in the GIS sector.