GIS Education - Experiences from the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) Region

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) through its Mountain Environment and Natural Resources Information Systems (MENRIS) program has been focusing on GIS capacity building and networking of the national institutions in the HKH region to promote the development of GIS and its application for sustainable mountain development since early 1990. Developing human resources in the field of GIS and Remote Sensing has been a major focus of the program since its inception. In the process, MENRIS has developed a number of training courses suitable to different audiences such as the policy makers, managers and professionals, and conducted these courses in almost all the member countries of ICIMOD, namely Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan. It has also developed many training manuals focusing on specific applications, GIS training CD–ROM and “GIS for Beginners” – an introductory textbook on GIS targeted for schools. At present, MENRIS is working on bringing GIS education to the Universities of the HKH which will be the major centres for developing the necessary human resources in the field. The paper discusses issues in GIS education based on its experience in the HKH countries over the last one decade.