September 2019


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Adam Thomas, 24, is always moving. As an engineering technician in the Department of Geomatics Engineering and Land Management you might spot him in the first days of the new semester leading groups of new students around the campus. If you work on campus you might have seen him in your office, taking measurements as a member of the Geospatial Information Research and Innovation (GIRI) Group.

It’s as a member of the GIRI Group that Adam, his colleagues, and team lead Dr Earl Edwards (Lecturer in Geospatial Information Science), recently won the coveted Esri Special Achievement in Geographic Information Systems/Science (GIS) Award (see UWI Today’s August 2019 issue https://sta.uwi.edu/uwitoday/article19.asp). The group developed an enterprise GIS (in layman's terms a super advanced map that combines data with geography) of the St Augustine Campus.

Apart from his achievement as a member of the GIRI Group, Adam also won recognition through the Esri Young Scholars Award programme. Launched in 2012, the programme “recognises the exemplary work of current undergraduates and graduates majoring in geospatial science disciplines at international universities”.

It was “honestly overwhelming,” he says of his recognition.

Adam and 30 other scholars from six continents travelled to San Diego for the Esri User Conference in July 2019. Esri is the global leader in the field of GIS. The User Conference included over 20,000 GIS professionals that took part in a week of presentations, workshops and social events.

UWI Today spoke with Adam Thomas.

UT: Can you tell us about your award?
AT: This year, a poster submission was required (for the Esri Young Scholars Award). The winners are provided with the opportunity to attend the Esri User Conference in San Diego. We also attended the Education Summit at the User Conference. The award is collected at the Special Achievement in GIS (SAG) award ceremony at the Conference, and winning posters are given a space at the conference map gallery.

UT: What was your submission?
AT: I was given the opportunity to submit a poster for nomination by UWI St Augustine. This poster, which was submitted to Esri Regional Distributor, Spatial Innovision Ltd, told the story of one of the first GIRI projects, our campus enterprise GIS. This is an ongoing project which was my first interaction with GIS, in 2014. The GIRI Group set out to create a system which would be used to facilitate operational needs and provide academic value to the campus, through location intelligence.

UT: How does it feel to have won?
AT: Being a 24-year-old from a tiny island with relatively little experience in GIS, winning the Young Scholar Award and collecting the SAG Award on behalf of the GIRI Group at the biggest GIS conference in the world were honestly very overwhelming, but humbly so. I was surprised to be nominated for the Young Scholar Award, and then to actually win.

I was also surprised beyond belief for GIRI’s SAG Award, being given the opportunity by the GIRI Team Leader, Dr Edwards, to collect the award on behalf of the GIRI Group, and the (Geomatics) Department by extension. It is constantly an uphill battle with hard work and long hours, but it was a surprising relief to gain some recognition. Another surprise (although not an award) was when Esri approached me to present at the Caribbean Regional User Group Meeting at the conference, which was accepted positively by Esri staff and the attendees.

And even more so, it gave me validation and hope that our national and regional potential is to be world class industry leaders. I feel determined to continue the professional growth of myself, and build the region’s GIS potential through my contributions to the industry.

UT: How has UWI contributed to your personal and professional growth?
AT: My educators, colleagues, interns, and students at the UWI have taught me more than I can say. Academically and technically, I have been educated sufficiently in Geomatics, Geoinformatics and related disciplines. Where there are new developments or projected developments in industry capabilities (or if there are personal interests for research through inquisitive thinking), the support, creation of projects and provision of resources are tackled by GIRI and the Department, providing me with more than enough support to grow professionally.

For the numerous GIS projects that are attempted, I have had the opportunity to meet many professionals and have been given many real-world responsibilities. In my transition from academic education to professional, I always see these opportunities and responsibilities as a form of immersive learning with the guidance of Dr Edwards and UWI, particularly collaboration with UWI Staff for the Campus Enterprise GIS. In a similar way, I try to facilitate teaching students and interns like this as well, and learning from their experiences. Personally, staff members many times have gone beyond their contractual obligations to assist in my professional growth, and this is common in the Department (speaking as a staff member here as well). Winning these awards requires significantly more than the bare minimum, and without my educators, colleagues and my wider support network from UWI, these awards would not have been possible.