Geospatial Intelligence Professional (Foundation Certificate)

"A short orientation. What geospatial intelligence is -- turning location into decisions -- the arc from spatial data to intelligence product, the professional's role, and where the discipline is used. How the three levels build and where the pathway leads."

"What spatial data is and how a GIS works with it. Vector and raster models, attributes and geometry, layers and the data frame, the main data sources, and hands-on QGIS from first project to a finished map layer."

"The single most common source of error in GIS work, made properly understood. The shape of the Earth and geodetic datums, geographic vs projected coordinate reference systems, the main projection families and their distortions, transforming between systems, and choosing the right CRS for a job."

"A map is a designed communication, not a screenshot of a GIS. Visual hierarchy on a map, symbology and colour, data classification, labelling and typography, thematic map types (choropleth, proportional symbol, dot density), and full map layout with the marginalia that make it usable."

"Keeping geospatial data organised, trustworthy and findable. The file formats and when to use each, an introduction to spatial databases with PostGIS, metadata and the standards that describe a dataset, data quality and validation, and structuring a project so someone else can pick it up."

"Answering real questions with spatial operations. Spatial queries and selection, buffer / overlay / proximity, spatial joins, terrain analysis (slope, aspect, viewshed), an introduction to spatial statistics, and building a multi-criteria suitability model end to end."

"Seeing the Earth from above, at Foundation depth. The electromagnetic spectrum and how surfaces reflect it, sensors and platforms, the four resolutions (spatial, spectral, radiometric, temporal), the main imagery sources (Landsat, Sentinel), loading and displaying imagery, and spectral indices like NDVI. Hands-on supervised image classification is Launch-tier; here it is covered at an awareness level."

"Getting accurate location data from the field into the GIS. How GNSS positioning works, the sources of error and expected accuracy, differential and RTK corrections at an awareness level, designing a field data-collection form, mobile GIS apps, and cleaning and integrating field data."

"Communicating spatial findings beyond a static map. Visualization principles for spatial data, interactive web maps (Leaflet at a working level), 3D and time-aware visualisation, dashboard design for spatial data, and producing a briefing a decision-maker can act on."

"Automating the work a GIS does by hand. Python essentials for geospatial, geopandas for vector data, rasterio for raster, shapely for geometry, scripting a repeatable analysis, and running a batch job over many files."

"From "we need a map" to "what spatial question are we answering, with what data, at what accuracy, for whom?" Framing the spatial problem, identifying the data needed and whether it exists, defining accuracy and output requirements, and producing a geospatial project specification a team could deliver against. First in-program vehicle for the two Solution Architecture competencies."

"Turning imagery and spatial data into an intelligence product. Structured imagery interpretation, change detection over time, spatial-temporal and pattern-of-life analysis, integrating multiple sources, assessing confidence, and producing the intelligence report a decision-maker relies on."

"Where geospatial meets the organisation's decisions. Network and routing analysis, site selection and suitability at decision scale, service areas and accessibility, market and demographic analysis, asset and infrastructure management, and presenting location intelligence so a non-GIS decision-maker can act on it."

"How geospatial data and maps are served and shared, not just made. The OGC web services (WMS, WFS, WMTS), tile services and basemaps, spatial data infrastructure concepts, publishing a dataset or a map as a service, geospatial APIs, and the shape of a web-GIS platform -- the geospatial systems architecture the pathway is named for, at Foundation depth."

"Location data is personal data. Privacy and re-identification risk in spatial data, data licensing and open data, positional accuracy and the liability of a wrong map, dual-use and sensitivity, the standards bodies (OGC, ISO/TC 211), and responsible practice -- from what you collect to what you publish."