FACULTY OF GEOMATICS AS THE FOCAL POINT IN GEOMATICS EDUCATION IN SRI LANKA

Abstract. The Faculty of Geomatics is one of the nine faculties of the Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka. It offers high quality geomatics related degree programmes, and consists of a well-qualified staff and latest technological resources. It delivers highly job oriented programmes and the curriculums of these programmes have been developed to meet various national and international standards and the requirements of professional bodies. As the first time in the history of the Sri Lankan university system, the BSc in Surveying Sciences Degree Programme was introduced by the Faculty of Geomatics established in 2004. This was an essential requirement for the country due to the high demand of surveying industry. Throughout the past decades it is being greatly developed both in infrastructure and human resources. Presently, the faculty has a student population of about 500 with the aim of producing about 150 graduates annually. Geomatics graduates have a variety of rewarding local and global employment prospects as land surveyors, land administrators, site managers, or site engineers in both the public and private sectors, including cadastral, mining, hydrographic surveying, and any other remote sensing and GIS-related disciplines. Graduates with knowledge in the geospatial stream could work as GIS analysts, image analysts, image interpreters, and in other positions in the business. Graduates of the program can take on useful tasks in their field with ease.