Abstract
Abstract. The aim of this paper is to share our experiences and thoughts about a project course in geoinformatics. The course has been organised annually since 2017. We hope that this article provides ideas about when new project-based courses are designed or existing ones are renewed. We wanted to increase students’ motivation by providing assignments from companies or other organisations as well as cooperation with them. Working with real clients makes the project work much more interesting than projects without a real-life connection. We provide topics from various fields of geoinformatics, such as geoinformation technology, geodesy, photogrammetry, laser scanning and remote sensing. The students worked in small groups that were supported by an advisor and a facilitator. The advisor helps with substance and the facilitator assists with reflection and improving working process, i.e. not only to complete the task but also to learn about capabilities for project work, self-directive teamwork and learning to learn (meta learning). To sum up, during the course students increase their knowledge and expertise on geoinformatics, learn skills for client-centered project work and learn how to support their learning through self- and peer-reflection. In other words, the course aims to develop skills that are useful throughout the students’ forthcoming careers.
Highlights
In 2016, a new Master’s programme in geoinformatics was introduced at the School of Engineering at Aalto University, Finland
We operate in the following fields: geoinformation technology, geodesy, photogrammetry, laser scanning and remote sensing
We describe how the principles of selfdirectedness and self-reflection have been operationalised in our project course, and what kinds of supportive structures we have created for them
Summary
In 2016, a new Master’s programme in geoinformatics was introduced at the School of Engineering at Aalto University, Finland. As a result of programme development (Rönnholm and Haggrén, 2016), a new project course was established. The course was offered for the first time in 2017, and was designed to serve all our sub-fields of geoinformatics, since the renovation merged three former master’s programmes into one. We operate in the following fields: geoinformation technology, geodesy, photogrammetry, laser scanning and remote sensing. In our previous master’s programmes, we had significant experience of various types of project courses. This time we managed to add more dimensions for effective learning than before
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