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A Systematic Approach in Remote Sensing Education and Training at University Teknologi Malaysia
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Education
Undergraduate Programme
The department of remote sensing provides education and training in remote sensing to a group of undergraduate students. Student intake began in May 1997 with the intake of 28 students. Currently introductory and advanced level remote sensing and GIS are taught to 136 students from year one to four. The first batch will graduate in the year 2001. The entrance requirement for the B.Sc. (Remote Sensing) course is, passing the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (equivalent to Cambridge O level exams) with credits in stipulated subjects. The study period for the course is 8 semesters (4 years) and the maximum allowed study period is 12 semesters.
Curriculum
The curriculum of B.Sc (Remote Sensing) was implemented by UTM upon the consent of the National Remote Sensing Committee (NRSC) and also based on the curriculum of similar programs at oversea institutions. A total of 128 credits are needed to fulfill the requirements to be awarded the degree of B.Sc (Remote Sensing). The credits come from 7 study sections. The composition of the study sections is shown in Table 1.
Table 1. Subjects and the corresponding credits for the B.Sc (Remote Sensing) course at UTM.
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Course subjects |
Number of subjects |
Number of credits |
Percentage |
| Main core remote sensing |
6 |
24 |
18.7 |
| Core Remote Sensing |
15 |
45 |
35.2 |
| Science of Mapping and Surveying |
2 |
6 |
4.7 |
| Computer Science |
3 |
9 |
7.0 |
| Mathematics, Physics and Statistics |
4 |
12 |
9.4 |
| Selective subjects |
3 |
9 |
7.0 |
| General subjects |
12 |
23 |
18.0 |
| Total |
45 |
128 |
100 |
Source: Department of Remote Sensing, 2000.
Integration of remote sensing with other related technologies/ disciplines such as GIS, photogrammetry and computer science is also essential to acquire complete benefits of this technology. However, in most universities in Malaysia the separation between remote sensing and GIS departments are apparent and the students from the Department of Remote Sensing are not well exposed to the technology of GIS and students in GIS programs do not receive enough knowledge and sufficient training in image processing. Therefore, knowledge fusion between GIS and remote sensing or photogrammetry needs to be conducted and all students from both departments must be exposed to the technologies at undergraduate levels. However, students can be given choice to select either one of these technologies or integration of both during their final year projects. In this way, upon the completion of their studies the students will have a complete knowledge fusion of remote sensing and related technologies and skill which ensures prospective job opportunities.
Training
Training provides the students with practical skill that can be used to solve problems in the real world. Remote sensing at undergraduate levels rely on a mixture of theory and practical applications. Weekly laboratory exercises for every subject are designed to complement recent lecture topics in order to create a seamless teaching environment. The classroom training objectives for students include the development of skills in the use of remote sensing data for the purpose of: knowledge of image acquisition methods, data merging, image rectification, image enhancement, image classification, and image algebra, the use of GIS including the knowledge of the characteristics of spatial data and spatial data handling systems, data acquisition, analytical operations and construction of output products, analysing remotely sensed data and applying GIS tools to address issues in natural resource management and environmental monitoring.
At the department of Remote Sensing, UTM, laboratory assignments are conducted using imagery from the local region so that students will be familiar with the study sites and encouraged to conduct necessary ground truthing. Besides that, students are also trained to use data collecting equipments like radiometer and hand held GPS or other conventional methods of data collecting such as boat for oceaonographic applications.
The final year (4th year) students in this course will also participate in independent undergraduate projects which carry 5 credits towards the end of the semester. This requirement encourages students to experiment the learnt theory and remotely sensed imagery or GIS techniques to topics of personal interest to them. In addition, the department has also arranged industrial training for students besides the classroom practical/ laboratory training. This industrial training is formulated to expose students to the aspects of remote sensing, GIS and other related technologies that are practiced in government departments and private sectors, to give opportunity to students to experience the real working environment, to relate both the learning process and the real working environment and to have a good relationship between university and industries with the objective to have job placement for students upon the completion of their course.
The training locations are at government or private departments/ agencies that have the application of remote sensing in their daily activities. This includes, the utilization and extraction of geospatial data using remote sensing data, integration of remote sensing with GIS technology and other related technologies. Among the agencies/ departments are; the Malaysian Centre for Remote Sensing, Department of Agriculture, Department of Forestry, Department of Meteorology, South East Asian Fisheries Development Centre (SEAFDEC), Department of Environment, Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM), Institute of Mineral Research, Institute of Fishery, Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI), Palm Oil Research Institute of Malaysia and other private companies.