International Collaborative Training Program Conducted by Comren School on Hydrographic Surveying Across Canada
International School of Hydrography (ISHS) Successfully Held Amidst COVID-19 Challenges
The 2021 International School of Hydrography (ISHS) took place from October 25 to 29 at Université Laval, with a co-modal mode allowing both in-person and online participation. Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was successful, attracting professionals and students from various geographic origins.
The on-site participants primarily hailed from Quebec and Ontario, Canada, and France, while online participants joined from Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. A total of 14 people attended the event in person, and 23 participated online.
The ISHS aimed to train Highly Qualified Personnel (HQP) to advance ocean technologies and solve problems. The fall school covered a wide variety of topics, including multibeam surveys, vertical referencing, hydrodynamic modelling, digital bathymetric models, uncertainty estimation, patch tests, backscatter data processing, GNSS applications, bathymetry in rivers and shallow waters, Topo-bathy LiDAR, hydrodynamic modelling, and bathymetry derived from satellite images.
A one-day workshop on navigation and port activities was organized during the school. Lectures touched on cutting-edge technology and recent advances in hydrography, such as virtual reality and maritime simulation.
Suggestions were made for future editions, such as more presentations on river bathymetry, survey examples with Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV), Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV), and Automated Surface Vehicles (ASV), or bathymetry applications in engineering projects.
Feedback from participants, lecturers, and experts was positive and enthusiastic. The goal is to increase the participation of industry and the community of practice in the ISHS school, and registration costs will be kept reasonable.
The International School on Hydrographic Surveying (ISHS) is a training program designed to provide specialized education and practical skills in hydrographic surveying, which involves mapping underwater topography, seabed features, and related marine data critical for navigation, resource management, and environmental protection. COMREN, a Canadian initiative focused on advancing ocean mapping research and education, often collaborates with academic, governmental, and industry partners to enhance hydrographic and oceanographic data collection and training.
A new edition of the ISHS is planned for 2022, with a preferential period of late summer and early fall. If the health situation improves, field surveys will once again be part of the school's program for on-site participants. For more information, visit this link.
- Participants at the International School of Hydrography (ISHS) gained insights into various topics, including hydrographic surveying, which involves utilizing technology to map underwater topography, seabed features, and related marine data for navigation, resource management, and environmental protection.
- The ISHS, a program that combines data-and-cloud-computing with education-and-self-development, offers online-education on the latest developments in hydrography, such as virtual reality and maritime simulation, fostering the training of Highly Qualified Personnel (HQP) to advance ocean technologies and solve problems.
- The ISHS, an initiative focusing on ocean mapping and hydrographic survey, continues to evolve, with the addition of suggestions for future editions that include more presentations on the use of Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV), Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV), and Automated Surface Vehicles (ASV), to equip students with practical skills in the field.
