2013’s Young Scholar Award winners, including Australian winner Rodolfo Espada Jr (front, pink shirt), with ESRI president and founder, Jack Dangermond.
Esri Australia has announced the latest update to its web mapping server, Dekho, as well as the 2014 Esri Young Scholars Award.
Dekho 4.1 has been reengineered to enable smoother access to maps and geographic information for users of all technical abilities.
Esri Australia Product Development Manager Bryce Smith said Dekho 4.1 has a strong focus on user experience, making it possible for anyone – not just spatial experts – to take advantage of GIS technology.
“The vision behind Dekho 4.1 was to make the software simpler to use and administer – while at the same time increasing its functionality and performance,” Mr Smith said.
“Every day, thousands of people use Dekho to access geographic information and mapping capabilities – and a large number of these users are not technical experts.
“As such, we redesigned the Dekho web administration interface to make it incredibly straight-forward to operate.”
Mr Smith said there were several important updates to the platform which would give users improved tools to generate better results from their GIS data.
“A major improvement to the software is giving administrators the option to create maps within Dekho – instead of needing to switch between applications,” he said.
“We’ve also included a new value-add product called ‘InstaLink’, which readily connects the platform with other key systems including: Pathway, Works & Assets, Property & Rating, Hansen, and Conquest – just to name a few.
“The printing function has also been upgraded to take advantage of the core ArcGIS printing capabilities – making it easier for users to print their maps.”
Nik Henry, a Dekho administrator and software developer at NSW Office of Environment Heritage, said the greatest advantage of Dekho 4.1 is the ability to enable administrators to create their own maps and templates.
“We are currently providing our staff and our Land Management Framework partners – such as Sydney Catchment Authority, Local Land Services (LLS) and Crown Lands – with access to Dekho 4.1 for evaluation purposes so they can manage and report on their investment in Natural Resource Management,” Mr Henry said.
“We’ve found the greatest benefit to be our administrators can now easily create maps for specific users and roles – whether it’s customer service or finance.”
As a key software release for Esri Australia in 2014, Dekho 4.1 will be a highlight at the Directions seminar series, which tours the country from March.
For further information on Dekho 4.1, visit the Dekho 4.1 website.
2014 Esri Young Scholars Award
Esri Australia has also announced the 2014 Esri Young Scholars Award – a nation-wide competition celebrating excellence in geospatial applications – which gives university students from across the country the chance to book their place at the world’s biggest spatial technology conference, the Esri International User Conference (Esri UC) in San Diego.
Senior figures from across the commercial, government, and academia sectors have signed on to the judging panel for the award, including: Surveying & Spatial Sciences Institute President and Emeritus Professor, University of NSW John Trinder; Secretary for the Department of Communications Drew Clarke; and, Principal GIS Strategist for Western Power – and 2013 winner of the Esri Special Achievement in GIS Award – David Klein.
Heading up the panel is Esri Australia Managing Director Brett Bundock, who has called on students to push the boundaries of current geospatial thinking in their submissions.
“The calibre of our panel shows Australian industry leaders are invested in understanding what’s next for one of the country’s fastest growing sectors,” Mr Bundock said.
“Australia’s GIS industry is worth $2.1 billion – and the technology now underpins many of the country’s major commercial organisations and government departments. As such, the demand for geospatial disciplines within Australian universities is growing – and thousands of students now regularly draw on spatial thinking and technologies to solve real-world issues.
“Following on from the quality we saw with last year’s submissions, I’m intrigued to see what is sure to be an exceptional field of entries this year.”
The judging panel will be rounded out by the winner of the Australian 2013 Esri Young Scholars Award, Rodolfo Espada Jr – whose flood risk mapping of Brisbane’s electricity network infrastructure is now gaining widespread attention.
The winning student will be flown to San Diego in July to meet with Esri founder and president Jack Dangermond, as well as other Young Scholars from around the globe.
They will also have the opportunity to hear from many of the world’s leading geo-enabled enterprises, and network with more than 30,000 spatial professionals.
Award Coordinator Alicia Kouparitsas said entries can cover any topic or field of study, however recommended areas include agribusiness, commercial/business, community, conservation, disaster response, education, or energy.
“The competition has previously fielded entries from a diverse field of studies, including engineering, environmental science, surveying, land and resources management, geology, computer sciences – and many more,” Ms Kouparitsas said.
The competition is open now – and closes 11 April 2014. The winner will be announced on 20 April.
For further information on the award and to submit an application, visit the Esri Young Scholar Award website.
