A delegation from Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) recently visited the Abu Dhabi Systems and Information Centre (Adsic) for a one-day knowledge sharing seminar.

The forum focused on the centre’s national mapping strategy, the practices of the Abu Dhabi Spatial Data Infrastructure (AD-SDI) community members and water resources conservation.

Comprised of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) graduate and undergraduate students and professors, the American delegates were in Abu Dhabi as part of an international tour to Germany, UAE, and Japan aimed at studying advanced SDI and mapping capabilities.

The group had an audience with Adsic and the AD-SDI community, which provided overviews of their activities and major initiatives to the visitors.

Adsic began the workshop with an overview of the centre’s strategy and the activities of AD-SDI programme.

Abdulkarim Al Raeisi, executive director of Adsic, explained the AD-SDI programme and its role in spatially enabling government services for government bodies and departments, businesses, and citizens. He also reviewed the key social, economic and environmental benefits of spatial data as stated in the AD-SDI initiative.

Adsic also invited other government and private entities to present their Geographic Information Systems (GIS)–related practices.

The Penn State delegates commended the pioneering use of GIS and digital mapping in Abu Dhabi and in turn, delivered their own presentations on ‘Topo Map Design Research’ and ‘Data Visualization and Online Education.’

“The Penn State delegates gained valuable insights on how the Abu Dhabi government and private sectors are tapping digital mapping technology to plan for growth, protect the environment and manage critical resources,” said Rashed Al Mansoori, director general, Adsic.

“The local participants on the other hand gained valuable insights on how the US is improving GIS technologies and practices in relevant domains.

“This forum is part of a series of workshops and seminars organized by Adsic in collaboration with AD-SDI stakeholder entities to foster international collaboration and spatial thinking. The goal is to develop a world-class spatial data infrastructure that empowers government and society with open access to spatial information and spatially enabled e-government services,” he added. – TradeArabia News Service