Deepening Geospatial Capabilities in Singapore

5th Singapore Geospatial Festival on 26 September 2023

• Launches OneMap GPT challenge, with the support of GovTech and IMDA, to leverage AI technologies and develop innovative solutions on OneMap.

• Inks Memorandum of Understanding with NUS to develop and promote new Geospatial courses for adult learners and mid-career workers.

• Introduces a new “Map Our World” programme to enhance geospatial interest amongst Pre-University students through experiential learning.

Singapore, 26 September 2023 – The 5th Singapore Geospatial Festival 2023 (GeoFest) returns this year from 26 – 29 September 2023. Organised by the Singapore Land Authority (SLA), this year’s theme of “Enriching Minds, Empowering Lives”, focuses on mainstreaming the use of geospatial data and capabilities, promoting geo-education and building a talent pool to support the growing industry.

2        This annual event brings the international geospatial community together for talks, panel discussions, workshops and co-located activities promoting the innovative use of geospatial information and technology in Singapore and globally.

3        The opening session will be held at the Lifelong Learning Institute on 26 September 2023, Tuesday at 9am, in conjunction with the Open Geospatial Consortium’s (OGC) Member Meeting. Please refer to Annex A for the welcome remarks by Mr Colin Low, Chief Executive of SLA.

Partnering Industry and Education Stakeholders to Accelerate the Mainstream Use of Geospatial Data and Technologies

4        As the national geospatial agency, SLA drives the adoption of geospatial data, services and technologies in partnership with industry stakeholders and educational institutions and aims to foster a collaborative environment that encourages innovation, knowledge sharing and value creation among public agencies, private enterprises and the community.

Engagements with Industry Stakeholders

    (A) Launch of OneMap GPT Challenge

5        SLA will be launching a OneMap GPT Challenge next month, with the support of GovTech and Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) via the Open Innovation Platform (OIP), to engage organisations and professionals to leverage AI technologies and design principles to develop innovative solutions on OneMap. These solutions will bring together diverse data sets from both government and private sectors and present them in an easily digestible format.

6        Participants will develop creative location-based solutions that incorporate GPT technology and OneMap data to bring value to diverse communities for various purposes, from daily tasks to significant life decisions. Please refer to Annex B for a description of OneMap.

    (B) SLA–AWS Ideathon 2023

7        SLA and Amazon Web Services (AWS) will tie up for the first time to jointly organise an SLA-AWS Ideathon. Through this Ideathon, polytechnic and university students will leverage Amazon’s Working Backwards[1] mechanism in the ideation process and OneMap’s location-based data to ideate solutions to solve real world problems.  

Engagements with Education Stakeholders

    (A) Memorandum of Understanding with NUS

8        Given the constantly evolving geospatial technologies and growing demand for talent with geospatial expertise, there is a critical need to nurture local geospatial capabilities.

9        In a new partnership, SLA will collaborate with NUS (Department of Geography, College of Humanities and Sciences and the School of Continuing and Lifelong Education) to curate a holistic Geospatial graduate programme and other professional certifications, to equip prospective learners with skills for careers in applied GIS or related disciplines.

10      Witnessed by Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman, Minister, Prime Minister's Office, Second Minister for Education and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed by Chief Executive of SLA, Mr Colin Low, and NUS Deputy President (Academic Affairs) and Provost, Professor Aaron Thean, at the opening ceremony of GeoFest. Please refer to Annex C for the quotes from the signatories and photograph of the signing ceremony.

    (B) Collaboration with Ministry of Education – “Map Our World” Programme

11       In addition, SLA will introduce a new “Map Our World” programme to deepen geospatial interest amongst selected Pre-University students through experiential learning. An inaugural batch of about 45 students from the Ministry of Education’s (MOE) Geography Talent Development Programme will participate in the programme in November 2023. Please refer to Annex D for more details on the “Map Our World” Programme.

    (C) Geospatial Data Enlivens Learning

12       To build a nation of young spatial thinkers, OneMap has been integrated with MOE-EduGIS, a geographic information system deployed by MOE. MOE-EduGIS makes the learning of Geography come alive through curriculum-aligned digital map content. Please refer to Annex E for more details about OneMap in MOE-EduGIS.

13       This year, SLA also introduced geospatial concepts to primary and secondary students to ignite early interest in geospatial knowledge. Please refer to Annex F for details.

International Geospatial Knowledge Sharing

14       To strengthen networks across the globe, SLA is co-hosting the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) 127th Member Meeting at GeoFest this year, bringing together international geospatial experts to discuss efforts to drive geospatial innovations globally. Participants of the OGC Federated Marine Spatial Data Infrastructure (FMSDI) Pilot Project 2023 will present proposed digital twin solutions to better support the seamless integration of land and sea data, which can improve decision making and experimental evaluation for various scenarios such as storm surges and protection of critical coastal infrastructure.

15       The OGC has been dedicated to advancing the future of geospatial through open standards and technologies in areas such as defence, marine and smart cities. Their decision to hold the 127th Member Meeting here in Singapore, in conjunction with the GeoFest, underscores Singapore’s position as an international geospatial hub and its contribution to the advancement of geospatial standards, policies, and capabilities worldwide.

GeoFest Highlights 

16       This year’s GeoFest features a series of workshops and panel discussions that discusses the transformative role of geospatial technologies. In line with its theme, there will also be an exhibition that showcases students’ geospatial activities and projects.

17       The line-up of the activities organised during Singapore Geospatial Festival 2023 is available at the event website at: https://www.sla.gov.sg/geoworks/programmes/singapore-geospatial-festival-2023.

[1]Working Backwards is Amazon’s customer-centric structured mechanism to create innovative new products, address new ideas, problems or decisions.

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Issued by:

Singapore Land Authority

26 September 2023