Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council to participate in Abu Dhabi’s GIS Career Forum

Highlighting its ongoing commitment to training its employees and attracting the very best of local talent, Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council (UPC) will be participating at the GIS Career Forum being held at Paris Sorbonne University in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, 18 May, 2011. This day-long event, which aims to address the subject of GIS (geographical information systems), will provide an opportunity for those working in the field, or interested in a career in this sector, to learn more about the latest GIS technology and to explore the opportunities and skills needed for a GIS career. 

Through its participation in the forum the UPC will provide graduates and post-graduates from a range of disciplines - including Geography, Geology, IT, Computer Science, Engineering and Environment, among others – with information on the Council’s GIS capabilities and employment opportunities. Members of the UPC’s GIS team will be on hand to meet with interested students and discuss careers, required experience and generally working in GIS for the Council. Presentations and training workshops on the subjects of ArcGIS software and GIS technology - by prominent figures in the industry - will also be on offer to visitors.

Spatial information, such as plots, buildings, master plans, zoning and land use, and transportation networks, is a critical element in the urban planning process. It is used to track multiple urban and regional statistics and forecast community needs.

“GIS’ clear assignment is to improve the decision making process by integrating all data from different sources and visualizing the whole aspects of planning. Such a valuable input sharpens our planning decision enabling us to cope with the fast pace of development in urban planning disciplines,” said Amer Al Hammadi, Director, Planning and Infrastructure, Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council (UPC).

The GIS department at the UPC is committed to supporting the UPC planning team throughout all phases of the urban planning process, with the provision of the most relevant and up-to-date data analysis and products. The GIS team plays an active role in forming linkages and standards with external agencies to ensure the best data sources are available for decision making and they play many crucial roles throughout the planning process.  Not only does the GIS team assist in the coordination between the UPC planners and various external agencies, it also assists in the liaison between planning groups across the UPC. In 2010 the UPC won the 2010 ‘Excellence in GIS Award’ at the GISWORX fifth annual conference in Dubai.  The award recognised the UPC’s achievements in executing exceptional GIS systems to manage and analyse data across three municipalities in Abu Dhabi. 

In all of the areas in which it operates, the UPC is steadfast in both equipping its employees with the latest expertise on urban planning skills and in attracting, supporting and engaging local Emirati talent.  It regards such professional nurturing as instrumental to the development of the Emirate and firmly believes that it is vital to equip its next generation with the required tools to realise the Vision 2030 development strategy. 

Commenting on the UPC’s participation at the GIS Career Forum, Abdulla Al Sahi, Director of Corporate Services at the UPC, states:  “GIS is an immensely valuable component of our planning decision process and we are firmly committed to not only training our employees in this area – so that they are equipped with the latest news and know-how – but also to reaching out to new local talents.  This forum assists us with both of these goals and we are thrilled to support, and be a part of, this initiative.”

Investing in talent development, the UPC has recently completed a tailor-made two-week training course for 12 of its young Emirati planners, educating them on contemporary urbanism principles and practicalities for the development of Abu Dhabi under the Vision 2030 guidelines.  The Young Planning Professionals (YPP) workshop was conducted in collaboration with the International Society of City and Regional Planners (ISOCARP) and it saw the young planners attend lectures and training sessions on the topics of integrated land use and transportation planning, land use control mechanisms, planning laws around the world, traditional urbanism, urban regeneration and urban systems.