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Geospatial Skills Competition 2016

The GeoTech Center is pleased to announce the 2016 Undergraduate Geospatial Technology Skills Competition! The intent of the competition is to showcase the geospatial technology skills of U.S. undergraduate students. Competing students will create a project that utilizes geospatial technology to address a real-world problem. The student will then present the project and the resulting deliverables as a Poster that not only highlights their use of geospatial technology, but also demonstrates their communication and presentation skills.

The competition is software neutral.

Eligibility

Applicants must meet all of the requirements below to qualify for the competition (questions regarding eligibility can be directed to either Tom Mueller (Mueller@calu.edu) or Scott Jeffrey (sjeffrey@ccbcmd.edu):

  • Applicants must be the age of 18 or older;

  • Applicants must be enrolled during the Spring 2016 term in a geospatial technology course (e.g., geographic information systems, remote sensing, GPS/GNSS, etc.) or geospatial technology program at an accredited 2-year or 4-year U.S. institution (undergraduate status);

  • Applicants must reside in the U.S.;

  • All work and cartographic output must be the original work of the applicant;

  • Only one entry allowed per student; and

  • Only individual student submissions allowed (no group projects).

Judging Criteria

The competition will be judged by a panel of experienced geospatial specialists, and the combined scores from all judges will determine the winners. These winners will receive an all-expense-paid trip to the 2016 ESRI User Conference in San Diego, CA on June 27 - July 1, 2016. Winning posters will be on display at the 2016 Esri User Conference map gallery.

The goal of this round of the competition is for students to demonstrate their capabilities in applying geospatial technology (geographic information systems, remote sensing, unmanned aerial vehicle, and global navigation satellite systems, etc.) to address a real-world problem. The scope of the project is open to the student’s discretion, but must be clearly defined and adhere to the following guidelines:

To enter the competition, students must submit the following along with their entry form:

  • a 250-500 word abstract that describes their project, demonstrating their knowledge and proficiency of geospatial technology and

  • 24 x 36 inch poster (electronic submission)


Projects will be judged on categories including project design, organization, analysis, and overall presentation quality. An official rubric has been made available (see below). All materials must be submitted no later than midnight Eastern Time on Friday, April 29th.

 

There will be 3 to 4 winners. **It is anticipated that two (2) of the student finalists will be from two-year colleges and one to two from four-year institutions. The exact split will depend upon the number of students who enter the competition and the quality of the work submitted (judges also reserve the right to invite fewer student finalists).

Official Rubric

Project Design, Organization, and Analysis (60 POINTS)

 

In order to receive all points in this area, the project must include the following sections.

  • Introduction (5 points)

    • Project has a title

    • Project’s geographic area is clearly defined

    • Project stakeholders are identified

    • Project goals and objectives are clearly stated

    • Project helps solve a real-world problem and/or has real-world application (briefly describe)

  • Data Preparation (20 points)

    • Source of data layers is clearly explained (i.e. created vs. downloaded).

    • Challenges related to data preparation are presented

    • Discussion of types of data is included (formats, coordinate systems, etc.)

    • Discussion of types of software used (software, extensions, APIs, etc.)

  • Data Analysis (30 points)

    • Data analysis types are clearly discussed (what types and why?)

    • Challenges encountered during analysis explained

    • Describe how project helps solve a real-world problem and/or has real-world application

    • Explanation of additional types of analysis that could be used in the future

  • Conclusions (5 points)

    • Summarize your project

 

Project Presentation (40 POINTS)

 

  • Application of geospatial technology (10 Points)

    • Project uses at least 2 technologies or applications related to geospatial, e.g., GIS, GPS, remote sensing, mobile GIS, web-based GIS, etc.

  • Presentation quality (20 Points)

    • Poster presentation is clear

    • Poster presentation is well-organized

    • Poster presentation is within time limit

    • Poster presentation makes use of cartographic output (and/or the use of tables or graphs)

    • Poster presentation highlights project deliverable/outputs and they are easily readable within the Poster

  • Attribution (10 Points)

    • All data was used with permission and attribution as to its source

    • Data sources must be well documented including, if necessary, permissions for use. Project data that is downloaded from the internet must include the date of the data as well as the date that the URL was accessed and/or the date the data was downloaded. Field data that was collected as part of the project must be identified with the date of collection.

 

Total Possible = 100 POINTS

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