On November 2, the Esri Canada User Conference was held in Vancouver, BC.  During the plenary Dr. Brent Hall, Director of Education and Research at Esri Canada, presented an overview of the progress that we have made over recent years in supporting the adoption and use of GIS technology in education institutions across Canada (e.g., the GIS Ambassadors program for K-12, as well as the ECCE program for higher education institutions).  This included a demonstration of our recent work developing 3D visualizations of vessel noise that affects marine mammal populations.

3D visualization of vessels/noise in the Georgia Strait

3D visualization of vessels/noise in the Georgia Strait

Following the plenary, some of the latest ArcGIS technologies and best practices were showcased in a series of technical sessions covering the new Drone2Map for ArcGIS, Survey123, Python with ArcGIS Pro, and an overview of the resources available to developers using ArcGIS technology.  The day was rounded out with a series of user presentations demonstrating a range of projects using ArcGIS technologies.

A significant highlight of the conference from the perspective of the ECCE program was the attendance we had from Simon Fraser University, with a full turnout from their ECCE including staff and student associates (both past and present).  SFU has been an active participant in the ECCE program since the start of the program in 2014.  Their focus on multidisciplinary research in GIS is evident in the quality of the work we see each year from their ECCE Student Associates, and their students who have participated in our annual App Challenge.

SFU ECCE @ Vancouver UC

SFU ECCE @ Vancouver UC
SFU ECCE @ Vancouver UC

Dr. Brent Hall, Director of Education and Research at Esri Canada (center) with SFU ECCE members Dr. Dragicevic (left) and Dr. Balram (right)