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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Henny Mills, Dr Craig RobsonORCiD, Professor Stuart Edwards, Chris Larkin
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
© 2026 International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. All rights reserved.Geospatial education in the United Kingdom is undergoing significant transition at a time when demand for spatial data skills is accelerating across government, industry, and academia. Despite the expanding economic importance of the geospatial sector, the domestic pipeline of graduates with specialist geospatial expertise continues to decrease. This paper synthesises current evidence on the state of UK geospatial higher education, highlighting declining enrolments in traditional surveying and geomatics programmes, the closure of long-standing undergraduate degrees, and the increasing reliance on postgraduate conversion routes to meet workforce needs. Alongside higherĝ€'education provision, including doctoral cohort training via the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Geospatial Systems, the paper evaluates national and international outreach initiatives designed to raise geospatial awareness among schoolĝ€'aged learners, with particular focus on the creation and uptake of geospatialuk.org, a UK-based platform offering curriculumĝ€'aligned STEM resources. Analysis of site analytics demonstrates sustained global engagement and strong demand for classroom materials and careers information, indicating a critical role for outreach in strengthening the skills pipeline. This paper synthesises the state of UK geospatial education as of March 2026 by drawing together a range of sectoral, institutional, and labour-market evidence. The paper concludes that coordinated (inter)national strategy, coupled with sustained investment in education and outreach, is essential to safeguard future capacity in geospatial engineering and science.
Author(s): Mills H, Robson C, Linighan A, Edwards S, Larkin C
Publication type: Conference Proceedings (inc. Abstract)
Publication status: Published
Conference Name: International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences - ISPRS Archives
Year of Conference: 2026
Pages: 41-48
Online publication date: 04/08/2026
Acceptance date: 04/07/2026
Date deposited: 24/08/2026
ISSN: 2194-9034
Publisher: International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing
URL: https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-Archives-XLIX-B5-2026-41-2026
DOI: 10.5194/isprs-Archives-XLIX-B5-2026-41-2026
