The GIS revolution as Stellenbosch’s anchor identity

ABSTRACT

The use of geographical information systems (GISs) for making sense of geospatial data has a long history at Stellenbosch University’s Department of Geography and Environmental Studies and has become an anchor identity of the department. As part of the department’s centennial celebrations, this article reflects on the circumstances and events that contributed to the evolution of GIS at Stellenbosch University (SU) by highlighting some milestones and achievements. Within this historical context, the paper provides a review of the current state of geographical information science (GISc) training and research at SU and attempts to forecast the role of geographers and GISc practitioners in the fourth industrial revolution.

KEYWORDS:

• GIS
• geoinformatics
• geographical information science
• history
• department of Geography and Environmental Studies
• Stellenbosch University
• centenary

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. After much effort, the unit standards were completed and registered with SAQA in 2009, but were never incorporated into the GISc academic model.

2. Larry Zietsman retired in 2005.