16 former and current students shared their UNIGIS learning experiences and came up with several practical suggestions for making UNIGIS India a more vibrant community of GIScience learners and practitioners. They unanimously proposed that this community should discuss ideas and share experiences on an open web based platform beneficial not only for current and future UNIGIS students but for all GIScience learners beyond the UNIGIS International Network worldwide. Dr. Shahnawaz appreciated the enthusiasm of the students for getting involved in ‘educating the GIS professionals worldwide’ and agreed to set up a common platform for this purpose at the earliest possible.
In addition to leading the workshop, Dr. Shahnawaz also delivered a keynote address on ‘UNIGIS Online Distance Learning – Empowering GI Students Worldwide’ during the ‘Student Forum’ at the India Geospatial Forum’ 2013.