The University of Sine Saloum El Hadji Ibrahima Niasse (USSEIN) in Kaolack, Senegal, has introduced its master’s degree programme in geomatics within the Environment, Biodiversity, and Sustainable Development Department of its Social and Environmental Sciences Research and Training Unit (UFR), as reported by the Senegalese Press Agency (APS).
The inaugural cohort of this groundbreaking program consists of approximately twenty-five students, with 13 female and 12 male students, including one participant from Benin. This first batch of students, supported by the French Embassy in Dakar through its innovation cooperation attaché, is set to become experts capable of addressing various challenges in the field.
The launch ceremony, held at the Khelcom Birame campus, was presided over by Ngoné Cissé, head of the Guinguinéo department. Distinguished attendees included Professor Ndèye Coumba Touré Kâne, the rector of USSEIN, and Maram Kaïré, the director general of the Senegalese Space Study Agency (ASES), among other academic and territorial figures.
Professor Diégane Diouf, director of the UFR Social and Environmental Sciences at USSEIN, highlighted the significance of this initiative as a crucial step in the university’s commitment to academic excellence. He emphasised that geomatics plays a central role in contemporary issues related to the environment, urban planning, and natural resource management.
The rector of USSEIN, Professor Ndèye Coumba Touré Kane, expressed pride in launching the geomatics master’s programme, emphasising its importance in providing students with skills to become experts in evolving fields. She encouraged students to seize opportunities and become ambassadors for the programme, university and the country.
The launch event also featured signing of a framework partnership agreement between USSEIN and the ASES. Maram Kaïré, the director of ASES, noted that this collaboration signifies the agency’s commitment to working with institutional, academic, and technical stakeholders to develop the national space ecosystem.
Ngoné Cissé, the head of Guinguinéo, observed that USSEIN has firmly established itself in higher education and research over the ten years since its creation. She stressed that the geomatics master’s degree programme contributes to the diversification of professional training at USSEIN and aligns with the country’s goals of territorial development and rational use of space through geographic information systems.
Source: SpaceInAfrica
