This course provide a general introduction to the concepts and possibilities of open source geospatial data (e.g., Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) and open goverment data) and software (e.g., FOSSGIS software such as GRASS GIS, QGIS and GDAL/OGR). Focus will be on the various data quality of VGI comparing to open goverment data, and its potential and limitation in a broader field of GIS research and application. Besides the theoretical lecture, several hands-on experiences (e.g., mini-projects of implementing a GIS analysis using FOSSGIS software) will be introduced during the tutorial.
By completing this module, students will be enabled to 1) gain and extend their knowledge about Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) with a focus on data quality asepects; 2) work with different format of open geospatial data using diverse FOSSGIS software; 3) design GIS analysis in an automated and script-based manner.