EVALUATION AND REFORMATION (2011) OF THE GEOMATICS EDUCATION PROGRAMS AT BELGIUM ACADEMIC UNIVERSITIES

Since 1990 a 4 years curriculum degree of "Licence in Geography option Land Surveying" was introduced at two Belgium academic universities: at the "Université De Liège" and "Universiteit Gent" ("Ghent University"). With the BAMA revolution, this has been converted in Belgium in 2005 into a 5-years curriculum finalised into an academic "Master in Geomatics and Surveying" (Universiteit Gent) or a "Master in Geography, option Geomatics and Geometrology" (Université de Liège).

The academic bachelor degrees that give direct access to the Master curriculum without additional compulsory courses are the "Bachelor in Geography" (Université de Liège) and the "Bachelor in Geography and Geomatics, Main subject: Surveying" (Universiteit Gent). At academic universities, the geomatics/surveying is related to geographical sciences and located into the Faculties of Sciences.

On the opposite, University Colleges (also called Technical Universities) offer mostly professional Bachelor degrees and some academic Bachelor and Master degrees, while Universities only offer academic degrees. Typically at University Colleges, the studies in Surveying don't exist as an independent type of education. They are seen as a continuation of the academic Bachelor in Applied Engineering sciences in Construction option Surveying (Master in Applied Engineering Sciences in Land Surveying - the degree offered at University Colleges).

After 5 years, a reformation of the programs, based on the experience with the former program, has been decided (November 2010). This article will give - and comment on – the experiences with the old program and the changes made in November 2010 to form a new and better “Master in Geomatics and Surveying” program. Also the different routes a student can follow to obtain this type of master degree will be explained.