Modernization of Geoinformatics Curriculum Based on Problem-Based Learning - Experiences of the GEOBIZ Project

Geospatial data, one of the key forces behind the current digital revolution, is the foundation of the geoinformatics ecosystem. Because geoinformatics is used in many different fields, it is crucial that geoinformatics experts have a quality education. The core of geoinformatics is new, cutting-edge technology that is used to support the development of applications for specific purposes, and one of the challenges that the geoinformatics ecosystem currently faces is the academic sector's tardiness in integrating new technologies into the teaching process. As a result, new specialists got the information and abilities needed by the labor market. Several initiatives are working to find solutions to this issue on a worldwide scope, which will encourage the modernization of the geoinformatics curriculum. The Erasmus+ program through Sector Skills Alliances (SSA) and Capacity Building in Higher Education (CBHE) provides academic institutions a tool for implementing curriculum modernization projects and finding new approaches in academic education. At the CBHE call in 2019, funding was approved for the project “Business driven problem-based learning for academic excellence in geoinformatics” (GEOBIZ), which is led by the Faculty of Geodesy of the University of Zagreb. The goal of GEOBIZ project is to improve the geoinformatics ecosystem through the development of a new and innovative model of cooperation between the business and academic sectors that will support the academic sector in modernizing study programs through problem-based learning following the technological and conceptual changes in geoinformatics. This project will update some geoinformatics research in order to raise future specialists' profiles and better match them to the demands of the market. Another objective is to create a cooperation model that would help all stakeholders in the geoinformatics ecosystem. This paper presents the GEOBIZ methodology and findings.