Facilities and Resources
The MSc GIS programmes are based in the Geography Building on Drummond Street in the historic Old Town of Edinburgh.
Within this building, MSc students have access to three computing labs and a dedicated MSc social space. The building is a short walk from the University Main Library, Pollock Halls Accommodation and the city centre. A wide range of facilities and resources are available for MSc students at the University.
Computing Facilities
University Computing Facilities
Students have access to state-of-the-art computing facilities. The University issues students their own email addresses and provides online access to lecture notes, assessment and course information.
School Computing Facilities
The School of GeoSciences benefits from its own dedicated computing facilities, which ensures they are managed to our particular requirements. In addition to three labs in the Geography Building, students have access to further labs in the Grant Institute and Crew Building.
Computing power is provided by a dedicated cluster of Linux servers, hosting more than 40Tb of disk space. These act as file, web, database, and compute servers, meeting the wide range of school requirements, including modelling, GIS and remote sensing.
Our hardware is matched by a comprehensive suite of software tools. These include ESRI’s ArcGIS and ArcInfo Workstation plus OpenSource GIS packages such as GRASS, Quantum GIS, and MapServer. Database software includes Oracle Spatial, SQL Developer, and also PostgreSQL and PostGIS. Remote sensing is well catered for with ERDAS, ENVI, and IDL. Common development tools for Java, Python, and Perl (plus C and FORTRAN) are provided. A range of statistical packages including R, SPSS, and Minitab plus other data analysis, diagramming, and office software are available.
Library Facilities
In addition to borrowing books and browsing journals, the University libraries offer:
- access to various e-resources and database
- study facilities and areas to relax
- uCreate multimedia and specialist IT resource centres
- study pods enabling groups of students to discuss ideas and work on projects
Institute for Academic Development
The Institute for Academic Development offers a wide range of courses, workshops and learning resources to help students develop their skills. Examples of workshops include:
- essay writing
- preparing for exams
- research skills
Careers Service and Opportunities
University Careers Service
The Careers Service offers guidance and information to students and recent graduates of the University on a range of career development learning opportunities and builds relationships with employers and training organisations in order to market students and graduates.
GIS Career Opportunities
An annual GIS Careers event takes place with contacts in industry giving current students informative information on the current market and an insight into potential employment opportunities.
In addition, our annual GIS Update conference keeps graduates up-to-date with the field and we regularly circulate job opportunities to students and graduates.
This article was published on Oct 25, 2012