Reviving Participation: McMaster SEES Students Compete in the 2025 National Geomatics Competition

The National Geomatics Competition is an annual case competition organized by a group of undergraduates that provides students with an opportunity to showcase their skills in geomatics. This year, the annual competition took place in Calgary, Alberta at the University of Calgary from February 6^th to 8^th.

Nine universities sent teams of three to partake in the competition including McMaster University. Representing McMaster were Nolyn Lakhanpal, Matthew Kastanis and Christian McCarthy. Patrick DeLuca, a course instructor for many Geographical Information System (GIS) courses at McMaster University, advertised the case competition for anyone interested in joining.

Matthew had been wanting to participate in the competition since 2024 but was unable to form a team. It was his luck when on a fateful night during the urban field camp course (ENVSOCTY 3MF3), Nolyn approached Matthew and Christian to form a team with him. The three felt they had a good bond with each other and were comfortable enough to embark on this experience together.

The three of them were so invested in the competition that they started preparing a month in advance. They reviewed notes from the different GIS courses they had taken at McMaster and went over the Esri tutorials, but their main preparation came from doing mock tests.

Patrick DeLuca, familiar with the competition, provided the team with similar problems from previous competitions. Typically, students were given eight hours to come up with solutions and create a presentation. The three of them divided tasks and tried to create a solution within the allotted time. The first practice was hard for them to reach the eight-hour mark, but by their second try, they were excelling.

Feeling confident, the team left for Calgary on February 5^th and got the chance to explore the city. There was a scavenger hunt to explore the area including visiting the Calgary Olympic Oval which is the legendary ice-skating rink that the 1988 Winter Olympics took place in.

The first day was the geomatics exhibition where surveying companies across Canada networked not only with the competitors but also with students from the University of Calgary, providing a great opportunity for social networking.

The next morning, at the end of breakfast, the prompt to this year’s competition was revealed – improving urban mobility in Banff. Banff, a small town in the middle of the national park, attracts a lot of tourists, especially during the summer seasons, which makes managing foot and car traffic challenging. Competitors had to come up with short- and long-term goals to reduce traffic.

Competitors were driven to Banff where more details were revealed. A series of professionals gave a 2-hour talk including the director of planning and development, Darren Enns. Town GIS specialists spoke about the kind of data available and on its collection. Each team was allowed to ask one question before they could go explore Banff.

Later that evening, they headed back to their hotel rooms and had 17 hours to submit a presentation with two optional maps. They came up with a six-step solution using open and provided data. Tired and under stress, the McMaster team pushed themselves throughout the night.

Around 8 am, each team had the opportunity to meet with an expert. McMaster was paired with a photogrammetry professor from the University of Calgary, Dr. Derek Litchi, who gave them feedback through a video call.

After submission, each team showcased their solutions in front of a panel of five judges. The group was feeling nervous, but in the end gave an amazing presentation which can be seen here. It felt like all their hard work had finally come to fruition.

The competition came to an end with a gala. Dressed to the nines, the group got an opportunity to network with other competitors. While the McMaster team did not win a place on the podium, they did win the scavenger hunt. Coming out of the competition, they felt proud of their work, receiving praise from many that were present at the competition.