Invited Talk on Research-Led Geomatics Education at the British Cartographic Society Annual Conference

On 9 September 2026, Dr Mingshu Wang delivered an invited talk at the British Cartographic Society Annual Conference, hosted at Registers of Scotland in Edinburgh. His presentation, “Research-Led Geomatics Education in the Age of GeoAI,” formed part of the conference session on geospatial technologies and cartography in education.

Drawing on Glasgow’s long tradition of cartographic and Geomatics education, the talk considered how teaching should evolve as AI becomes part of geospatial workflows. It emphasised the continuing importance of spatial understanding, critical judgement and responsibility to map users. As technologies make map production more accessible, students increasingly need to question, compare and interpret visual outputs—and explain the choices behind them.

The presentation illustrated this approach through Atlas Praxis, using Glasgow deprivation data to explore how changing variables, classification methods and colour palettes can alter the interpretation of a map. Examples from recent research also demonstrated how authentic geographical questions can connect classroom learning with the development of purposeful maps and visual arguments.

Mingshu also introduced Glasgow’s postgraduate Geomatics portfolio, including the newly launched MSc Geospatial Data Science and AI. The programme combines established geospatial foundations with emerging AI methods, practical analysis and research-led learning.