As part of a large, nation-wide project to develop a Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI), the country of Lithuania’s National Lands Service contracted Vancouver Island University to develop nine GIS courses. These courses were to provide civil servants with a set of geomatic tools and techniques that would strengthen Lithuania’s geographic information infrastructure at the local and national levels. Over 180 GIS professionals from various ministries and local governments participated in the training program, which was delivered over a 1-year period from May, 2007 to May, 2008.
The SDI training program included nine comprehensive, 100-hour courses. These courses include lecture materials, readings for independent study and practical exercises. Each course is equivalent to a minimum of 10 credits (European Community Course Credit Transfer System, ECTS) and corresponds to a master’s level of study.
This 9-course program is intended to prepare GIS professionals for the development of a jurisdiction-wide SDI. It covers a broad range of subjects, including technical courses in Geographic Databases and Web Programming, and issues-based courses such as SDI Standards and Technical Infrastructure necessary to implement a nation-wide SDI. It was developed with a professional, public service audience in mind and is prepared such that it may be delivered either online or face-to-face in a classroom setting.