GIS education in Turkey: GIS education under the Institute of Natural and Applied Sciences of Anadolu University and Online Education Proposal for International World Campus

Abstract

Wealth of nations depends on the information rather than the natural resources they own. Information is not enough for a successful development; it is also outstandingly necessary to be able to manage this information. The first step to reach the findings is collecting the updated data. For this reason it is very important to collect and store the data properly (Ayday etal 2004). It is inevitable to use information technologies for evaluating data, analysis of the data and converting data to knowledge which are the fundamentals of natural sciences and engineering studies. According to spread of user-friendly applications and operation systems for computers, reduction of computer prices, increase in computer literacy and internet usage and communication opportunities create a great demand for professionals on computer and IT market. In addition to the demand for professionals in computer market, there is a great demand for GIS professionals worldwide and in the Turkey. The job market demand for people with GIS education is getting higher day by day. This demand has forced many universities to restructure their courses and programs and develop new undergraduate and graduate programs on Geomatics so as to meet the demand. This paper paid attention to the GIS education in Turkey and importance of internet base online education.