Question: what was your latest discovery in the GIS

Sylwia Nikel answered on 7 Mar 2018:

I don’t know if you can call it a discovery but I am learning new technologies to capture data in the field with the use of mobile devices like tablets of smartphones. At the moment I’m the initiator and a person in charge of a trial run to survey Phase 1 Habitats for the EIA (Environmental Impact Assesment).
This actually leads nicely to another one of my, not so new anymore but still lots to discover, passions – ecology.
GIS is very broad and it can be on occasions overwhelming how many directions one can choose from. For example, you may decide to be a developer, data analyst, 3D data visualisation specialist, database designer, etc. I have been working for about 7 years in the sector before learning about environmental GIS applications. It was nearly 4 years ago when I joined Arup and started to work with ecologists to support them with GIS technology. This was when I decided Environmental GIS is the direction I want to follow. I feel like I have learned a lot over last few years. I discovered FME software and “fell in love” with its capabilities – it feels like my imagination is the limit. I have also discovered there is more that can be done to support ecology and I decided to do my MSc research project on the use of FME for GIS analysis to standardise and automate the assessment of the development impact on the environment.