The surveying educators’ conferences in the USA and Canada started in 1937 at Rainy Lake, Minnesota, with Iowa State University being the first conference host. The educators’ main concerns at that time were focused on surveying instruction in civil engineering programs and the lack of a national presence for the surveying profession. Since then numerous conferences have taken place.
SaGES was born from the surveying educators’ conferences in 2009, continuing the “spirit of Rainy Lake.” The feeling was that the educators should have a formal society to help with the organization of the conference. The society would also help in increasing the conference attendance, seek for collaborations, formally represent educators in other professional organizations, and create better means for addressing the important challenges in surveying education.
BCIT is a well-regarded public polytechnic institution located in British Columbia, Canada. It offers a wide range of programs in various fields such as technology, engineering, business, health sciences, and trades.
The School of Construction and the Environment is one of the six schools within BCIT that offer engineering programs like Geomatics. The Geomatics Engineering program focuses on the technical aspects of mapping and surveying, which can be applied in fields like land development, environmental management, construction, and infrastructure planning.
Vancouver is a world-class city on the west coast of Canada. Nestled between the Salish Sea, the Fraser River, and the Coast Mountains, the city offers an awesome natural backdrop for academia, industry, and government to exchange ideas, promote common causes, and provide opportunities to improve the teaching and learning of geomatics.
There is plenty to see and do both in the vibrant metropolitan area of Vancouver and in the beautiful province of British Columbia. Spend some time before or after the conference to explore, whether on the water, in a museum, along a river, in a garden, or on a mountain.
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