From education to job opportunities. Defining professional profiles for geographers with high competences in GIS environment
In this paper, the importance is underlined of promoting higher education
and training courses and opportunities, focused on a close connection between GIS
and geography to cover topics of remarkable and daily social interest. In the first
part of the contribution, some educational key points are defined in order to fuel a
virtuous circle which can provide considerable methodological and applied skills in
the use of GIS applications. It is considered fundamental to broaden one’s mind, to
provide practice to the theories, to give enthusiasm and security in one’s own skills,
to create a community of Geographers able to provide important added value in
different research fields and workplaces. Therefore, it seems essential to build a trait
d’union between the university and theworkplace. Particular attention is attributed to
well-structured university modules founded on GIS applications, to intensive courses
for postgraduates and to the geocartographic laboratories. In the second part of the
paper, the focus will be on some examples of professional profiles forGeographers in
order to define specific professional categories. In particular, ten application fields for
Geographers with high competences and abilities in GIS environment are identified
and explained with relative examples. In all these cases, a rigorous approach founded
on geographical contents and a wide, updated and concrete use of GIS functionalities
and extensions is required.