I am honoured to write the foreword for this edition of Map it Out from where I am on the land of the Wurundjeri people. My hometown is Adelaide, South Australia on the land of the Kaurna people.
I was recently humbled to be awarded Future Leader of the Year at the Victorian APSEA awards and want to reflect with you on my journey. My graduate career started when I joined Victoria’s Digital Cadastre Modernisation (DCM) project over 4 years ago, and it’s been an enthralling adventure. During my studies, I never thought I might one day be working in Melbourne on a ground-breaking project with such a talented and inclusive team.
I’m not alone when it comes to the uncertainty of employment and the expectations it brings. The Department of Education, Skills and Employment reports that only 65% of students complete their bachelor's degree. The are many reasons for this, but I believe that uncertainty builds in students who do not have a connection with members of the industry they hope to work in.
I’ve volunteered with the Young Professionals of the Surveying and Spatial Sciences Institute (SSSI) since I began study in Adelaide. We’ve coordinated a mentoring program to connect students and graduates alike with industry professionals to build real and meaningful connections.
Feedback over the past 4 years has been overwhelmingly positive. Mentees establish a connection with someone experienced and learn about the day-to-day realities of working life within the industry. Mentors appreciate the chance to share their stories and influence the next generation.
I encourage you to join SSSI and get involved in the mentoring program and the new student networking program. Together we can reduce attrition rates and inspire the next generation of professionals who will change the landscape as we know it.
At work, my experience on the DCM project has been cultural as much as technical. One of the project’s great achievements is encouraging team members to play to their strengths and continue doing what they're good at while developing new skills.
The focus of my work has always been the quality of the data. Quality is broken down into two broad categories: completeness, and correctness, and at a finer level into these categories: structural, semantic, visual, and mathematical.
Members of the DCM team recently went out with our Senior Cadastral Surveyor to undertake fieldwork to verify the DCM data output in one of the completed areas. This is a great example of the skills development opportunities the DCM project is offering early-career surveyors who are working in the team.
The DCM team will soon release a public product within the Vicmap portfolio. In the meantime, spatial and surveying professionals can now start accessing data from completed areas well before the final product is released. You can read about this and more in this edition.
Regards
Jason Heritage
Senior Digital Cadastre Adjustment Analyst | Digital Cadastre Modernisation
Land Use Victoria | DELWP