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- 2023 Archives
- Scientists dig deep and find a way to accurately predict snowmelt after droughts
- Cracking the Case of Missing Snowmelt After Drought
- 2023 Esri Canada GIS Scholarship for SFU
- Thesis Defence - Congratulations to Daniel Murphy
- Thesis Defence - Congratulations to Kyle Kusack
- Thesis Defence - Congratulations to Matthew Taylor
- Anke Baker Wins Staff Achievement Award
- Spring 2023 Virtual Geospeaker Event with Ginger Gosnell-Myers
- CAG Paper Presentation Award - Congratulations to Alysha van Duynhoven!
- Informing & Engaging Urban Youth on Public Hearings: GEOG 363 Final Showcase
- Research Talk: Modeling Urban Wetland Complexities
- Highlight Paper: Quantifying land carbon cycle feedbacks under negative CO2 emissions
- Bright Addae winner of the 2023 SFU ECCE GIS Scholarship Award
- Thesis Defence - Congratulations to Jonny Cripps
- Thesis Defence - Congratulations to Diandra Oliver
- 2023 Geospeaker Presentation with Dr. Pauline McGuirk
- Congratulations to Our Graduates - October 2023
- Evaluating the impact of educational goals at SFU
- The Belongings of Precariously Housed People - A Report
- Thesis Defence - Congratulations to Takuma Mihara
- Thesis Defence - Congratulations to Adrienne Arbor
- Thesis Defence - Congratulations to Claire Shapton
- 2023 Distinguished Speaker Presentation with Dr. Deb Cowen
- Cheers to Paul Degrace and his well-earned retirement!
- 2024 Archives
- Professor Nicholas Blomley Honored with the Community-Engaged Research Achievement Award
- Graduate Students Claire Shapton and Marina Chavez Honored with the Community-Engaged Graduate Scholar Award
- Applications now open: 2024 ESRI Canada GIS Scholarship for SFU
- Associate Professor Rosemary Collard achieves 13th place on SFU Altmetric List
- The PEAK feature: GSU hosts inaugural RANGE conference
- Gabrielle Wong wins First Prize in 2023 Student Learning Commons Writing Contest
- Gabrielle Wong receives Warren Gill Memorial Award
- Professor Nick Blomley receives Warren Gill Memorial Award for Community Impact
- Geography Student Union recipient of the FENV 2024 Changemaker Awards
- Senior Lecturer Tara Holland reveals the secret sauce of great teaching
- Senior Lecturer Tara Holland Receives SFU 2023 Excellence in Teaching Award
- Thesis Defence - Congratulations to Bright Addae
- GIS undergraduate students participate in the Canada-wide 2024 AppChallenge competition
- Senior Lecturer Andrew Perkins Receives SFU 2024 Dean's Award of Excellence in Teaching
- Congratulations to Alysha van Duynhoven, Canada's 2024 ESRI Young Scholar
- Thesis Defence - Congratulations to Robert Ehlert
- Thesis Defence - Congratulations to Stephan Nieweler
- Eugene McCann writes on "livable cities" in The Tyee
- Tiana Andjelic wins the 2024 SFU ECCE GIS Scholarship Award
- Thesis Defence - Congratulations to Marina Chavez
- Thesis Defence - Congratulations to Mia Fitzpatrick
- Thesis Defence - Congratulations to Lan Qing Zhao
- Thesis Defence - Congratulations to Tyler Cole
- Thesis Defence - Congratulations to Benjamin Lartey
- Thesis Defence - Congratulations to Olivia Nieves
- Thesis Defence - Congratulations to Max Hurson
- Thesis Defence - Congratulations to John Sykes
- Farewell to Robert "Bob" Horsfall, Associate Professor
- Thesis Defence - Congratulations to André Araújo
- SFU Geography welcomes ethnobotanist, Leigh Joseph, as professor of Indigenous geographies
- Physical Geography September: What is Physical Geography?
- Alysha Van Duynhoven communicates award-winning research at international GIS conference
- How Dr. Tracy Brennand’s visionary leadership shaped the Department of Geography - a heartfelt thank-you
- Dr. Tracy Brennand honoured with the Canadian Association of Geographers (CAG) Award
- Thesis Defence - Congratulations to Jay Matsushiba
- Human Geography October: What is Human Geography?
- MA Student Joy Russell featured on CBC Vancouver
- Human Geography October: What is Urban Worlds?
- Ajay Minhas Receives 2024 Warren Gill Award
- Dr. Nadine Schuurman featured in SFU news article on Runnability
- GIS Month: What is Geographic Information Science (GIS)?
- Thesis Defence - Congratulations to Joy Russell
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Co-op Term: Spring and Summer 2020
1. Where did you work (Department/Organization name and location)?
Vancouver Police Department – Crime Analytics Advisory and Development Unit
2. What was your role (what type of work did you do)? What were some of your responsibilities?
I acted as a technical assistant to the GIS administrator, carrying out various tasks involving mapping, geoprocessing, and database management. Throughout the term I edited spatial data files, created static and web-based maps, wrote data processing scripts and models, and designed two web apps.
3. How did the skills/knowledge developed in the classroom apply to your job? What did you learn?
Having lots of practice using ArcMap prepared me well for this co-op. The ability to keep your data organized and clean is essential when you're working with enormous datasets, or creating many backup versions. We used ArcGIS Online in the latter half of the co-op, which was new to me, but I'm already finding that experience paying off in my classes since then.
4. Can you share a challenge you faced in your Co-op and how you overcame it?
Working from home was a challenge. I was lucky enough to have a job I could continue by connecting in remotely, but I had to be very strict with myself and plan out my tasks to stay motivated. When technical challenges arose I worked on side projects to practice my skills, before returning to the central issue with a fresh outlook.
5. What was your most memorable Co-op experience?
The best experience as a GIS data analyst is creating a model or script and running the whole thing successfully for the first time. I went from having no prior programming experience to creating a program that could instantly generate a custom map on the fly, tailored to users' needs.
6. What have you learned through your Co-op experience?
I've learned how much growing opportunity there is for GIS students in a variety of sectors, and how foundational those skills are for working in a geography field. I also learned about the contrasting expectations between a workplace and an academic environment. The most vital takeaway from the experience has been the wealth of skills my supervisors imparted upon me.
7. What advice do you have for future Co-op students?
For getting hired: Start early (2nd year isn't too soon!). Apply to every position you're remotely interested in. Triple-check every cover letter for mistakes before you send it off. Look outside the Lower Mainland if you can, and apply for fall or spring co-ops if you can; your first co-op term is always the hardest to get and local summer co-ops have the stiffest competition.
For the long-term: Learn a programming language. SFU's GIS certificate places more emphasis on software use than back end work, but programming skills are essential to have once you get into the workplace. The good thing is that once you learn one programming language, it's super easy to learn others. The W.A.C. Bennett Library puts on excellent workshops every semester or so in R or Python; those languages are a good place to start. Online tutorials and forums are also indispensable resources.
Also, seek out friendships with your co-workers! It makes the whole experience much more enjoyable to have people to chat with on your breaks.