SIWES Diary – Day 1 Date: 2nd September, 2025 Organization: Unique Mappers Network, Nigeria National Office: Suite 7, Mapathon Center, UNIPORT Mall, Abuja Campus, University of Port Harcourt

Activities:

-Reported to the National Office of Unique Mappers Network and settled into the Mapathon Center.

-Was introduced to the organization’s vision, mission, and the role of open mapping in sustainable development.

-Met fellow IT students including Favour, Alexander and Salvation, who are also undergoing their internship.

-Created an OpenStreetMap account and was tasked to locate my community and count the number of buildings. Many buildings were not visible, so using aerial imagery and my local knowledge, I edited the map by adding missing buildings.

-Since the office router had no internet subscription, I used my personal data for mapping and contributions.

-Received four major tasks for the internship period:

1. Watch the video “The Magic of Maps and Mapping” (YouTube link-https://youtu.be/5MyCtvSBATI?si=g6TM60pmY_oolnT) and reflect on how mapping can be applied to geology.

2. Work on mapping buildings in my community, since the area is not yet globally visible on OpenStreetMap.

3. Research and design an open mapping project that addresses at least five Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

4. Participate in research-related tasks assigned by the organization.

-Later in the day, I met the National Coordinator, Dr. Victor N. Sunday, who gave me a formal orientation. He emphasized the importance of my contributions and provided me with a WhatsApp link to join the National Community and Internship groups. Observations/Learning Points:

-Understood the operational structure of Unique Mappers Network and how it collaborates nationally on geospatial projects.

-Learned the importance of open data contribution to global platforms like OpenStreetMap.

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