When people hear the word “mapping,” they often envision a complex web of points and lines on a piece of paper, which can be intimidating for newcomers. However, mapping is not as daunting as it may seem, it’s an art that can be mastered. Just like any other science, mapping requires active engagement in related activities. To make learning less challenging, we established Udayana Remote Sensing and GIS (URGis) as a mapping community to help each other grow our remote sensing and GIS skills.

Throughout our journey, we’ve harnessed the power of mapping software like OpenStreetMap (OSM) to assist students in developing their skills and confidence. OSM provides convenient tools for various mapping applications, from displaying different map themes to adding points, polygons, or polylines and populating attribute tables. We’ve witnessed this transformation through our activities. In the past semester, URGis focused on introducing OSM to students in our faculty, offering engaging materials and hands-on practice with web-based OSM. We also invited OSM experts to provide further insights into projects involving OSM.

Our main goal is to empower students by providing opportunities to participate in remote sensing and GIS projects, experiences that go beyond traditional classroom learning. Through collaboration with OpenStreetMap, we’ve engaged our members in mapping projects, with OSM funding allowing us to conduct mapping workshops and reach a wider audience, benefiting from the expertise of the OSM team.

OUR ACTIVITIES

We kicked off the OSM Workshop on July 11th, 2023, right on our campus, introducing OSM as a participatory map and emphasizing its role in disaster mitigation. Dewa Putu Adikarma Mandala (Bli Dewa) from Program Siap Siaga Bali delivered the lecture, and we had the chance to use OSM ourselves. The interactive sharing session with Bli Dewa sparked lively discussions, with everyone actively asking and answering questions.

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