EGI Awards 2020

Excellence in GIS Implementation

EGI Awards 2020 Winners

• Geographic Information Center, Dubai Municipality – Government-Wide GIS
• Tatweer Petroleum – GIS for Oil Industry
• Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority – GIS for Sustainable Development
• Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones (MODON) – GeoPortal for Industrial Areas
• Al Dhafra Region Municipality – Abu Dhabi – Municipal GIS
• Sharjah City Municipality – Enterprise Municipal GIS
• Etisalat – GIS for Telecommunication
• Exploration Application Services Department (EASD) Saudi Aramco – Enterprise Central GIS
• Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi – GIS for Environment
• NAKHEEL – Enterprise Real Estate GIS
• Haya Water – GIS for Project Progress and Monitoring
• Al Ain Distribution Company (AADC) – GIS for Utility
• Geography and Urban Sustainability Department, UAEU – GIS in Education
• Municipality & Planning Department - Ajman – GIS/BIM Integration

About the EGI Awards

The EGI (Excellence in GIS Implementation) Award has been instituted to promote innovation and experimentation in GIS implementation. Since its first edition in 2007, the EGI Award has become the most known and most prestigious recognition given to organizations which use GIS in unique and innovative ways in the UAE and GCC.

To be eligible to receive the award, the organization should meet at least one of the following criteria:

• Clear business objectives
• System infrastructure
• Productivity, scalability, and user satisfaction
• Usage of the latest technology (high tech)

Clear business objectives

The GIS system's value for the business has been recognized and identified by the organization including dedicating specific staff such as a GIS section and/or GIS centre to focus on undertaking the GIS implementation. This would include building up the business case, establishing the vision of the GIS implementation, and performing the necessary consultancy work to draw up a road map for GIS within the organization and performing the required awareness among the stakeholders.

System infrastructure

The organization has built the infrastructure and in-house capabilities to support the GIS community. This may include:

• Furnishing the needed hardware/network/software required to operate the system;
• Building a dedicated training facility to transfer GIS knowledge to new manpower, and;
• Starting an initiative to coordinate and facilitate the sharing of geospatial data among different agencies and stakeholders and support their own affiliate organizations through standards adoption, system implementation, data exchange, and other kinds of coordination.

Productivity, scalability, and user satisfaction

The organization has:

• Successfully implemented the core GIS system and it is utilized up to the users' expectations and satisfaction, and;
• Successfully implemented and completed a new stage (expansion) of the core GIS system covering new business areas and new set of users.

Usage of the latest technology (high tech)

Technology in general and especially the IT technology is moving at a very rapid pace and impacting every facet of our lives. Here, the criterion is to check whether or not the organizations are keeping their systems up-to-date with the latest technology in terms of hardware and software.

The Selection Process

The selection process included deliberation of the EGI Selection committee composed of key GIS professionals, technology innovators, and academicians, along with online voting of the most innovative GIS implementation projects by the GIS community.

The EGI 2020 Selection Committee

Muneer Qudaisat

Director of Projects, Training, and Contracts, gistec (United Arab Emirates)

Eng. Muneer Qudaisat joined gistec in May 2006. He received his MSc degree in GIS from the University of Paris 7, France in 1994 and his Engineering Diploma in Survey/Digital Cartography from the National School for Geographic Sciences (ENSG), France in 1993. Eng. Muneer has more than 25 years of experience in the GIS fields. He worked for 2 years at the Royal Jordanian Geographic Centre as a senior GIS Technical Support, then as a GIS instructor at Qatar University where he participated in the establishment of the new GIS Program in 1997. He also worked as a GIS Strategic Planner for 2 years at the Qatar Electricity and Water Corporation applying GIS on the water distribution system.

John Steenbruggen

Innovation Manager, Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management (The Netherlands)

John Steenbruggen obtained his bachelor’s degree in Geodesy and Geo-informatics at the High Technical School Utrecht, his post bachelor’s degree in Business Economics and Management at the High Economic Administrative School Breda, and his master’s degree in Technology and Society at the Technical University Eindhoven. In 2013 he finalized his PhD in Spatial Economics at the VU University Amsterdam. He has written articles in peer refereed journals, edited books, and conference papers. He works as an innovation manager at the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management and is affiliated as a research fellow (post-doc) with the VU University Amsterdam. His main research interests are Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, Collective Sensing, Internet of Things, Predictive analytics, Smart cities, and Tourism geography.

Khalil Al-Manasir

Consultant, EDIC - Bayanat Geospatial Services (United Arab Emirates)

Dr. Khalil Al-Manasir is a consultant at EDIC-Bayanat Geospatial Services, Abu Dhabi, UAE. He is a registered surveyor and a member of The Chartered Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors (ICES) of the UK. Prior to and during his appointment as Assistant Professor in Geomatics Engineering at Nottingham University from September 2012 to June 2016, he served as a consultant to industry in Australia, China, Middle East, the US and Europe. He also serves on the Editorial Boards of international journals dealing with Geospatial Engineering. He has over 15 years of experience in consultancy and management in Engineering Surveying and Geodesy, GIS, Digital Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, Laser Scanning, GNSS, CORS and VRS RTK Networks, Mobile Mapping Systems, Industrial Measurement Systems, and satellite imagery exploitation.

Nawaf Alotaibi

GIS Lecturer, King Saud University (Saudi Arabia)

Dr. Nawaf Alotaibi is a GIS specialist with nearly 12 years of experience working with a wide range of GIS software for developing GIS databases, data creation, and performing advanced spatial analyses. He obtained his PhD in GIS from University of Leeds in 2017 and his MSc in GIS from University of Leeds in 2010.

Nigel Robbins

CEO, WeGetGEO (United Kingdom)

Nigel has more than 25 years of extensive experience working within the geospatial industry. He was involved in the development of the Sohar Master Plan in Oman as the lead GIS consultant working within a range of planners, engineers and environmentalists. He was also the technical advisor to the UK’s National Health Service when tendering for the establishment of a national framework that enabled the use of digital maps across more than 350 health organisations. He holds a degree in business administration, a post-graduate research diploma, and degrees in logistics management. He is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport and director of WeGetGEO.