Vision & Mission

Overview of the Department of Geography, Geoinformatics and Meteorology

The Department of Geography, Geoinformatics and Meteorology (GGM) comprises four former groups from the University of Pretoria, namely the University’s former Geography Department, the Geoinformatics group originally from the Department of Town and Regional Planning, the Meteorology group originally from the Departments of Applied Mathematics, Civil Engineering and Earth Sciences and the Geography Department from the Mamelodi Campus of the former Vista University.

The Department is established in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Science and has close ties with the Faculties of Humanities and Education as well as with the University’s Centre for Geoinformation Science, the Centre for Environmental Studies (CFES) and the University of Pretoria Water Institute (UPWI). The Department holds a strong national and international position.

The Unit for Geoinformation and Mapping in the Department of GGM continues to be an important part of the Department, making valuable contributions towards spatial data distribution, map production and the design of posters.

Over the past decade the Department of GGM has sought to strengthen ties with allied disciplines in the broad fields of earth sciences, urban studies, social sciences, environmental sciences, geoinformatics and meteorology. Part of this is reflected in study programmes in Earth and Environmental Sciences that are presented in addition to the more focussed Geography and Meteorology training.

The Department of GGM is located in the Geography building that is centrally located on the Hatfield campus, nestled amongst Jacaranda trees just north of the Old Arts building. Most lectures are presented in lecture halls that are located in the Geography Building.

Our vision

The Department of Geography, Geoinformatics and Meteorology (GGM) strives to be:

A national leader in education and research that is recognised internationally for academic excellence in the following disciplines
- Evironmental sciences;
- Geoinformatics;
- Geomorphology;
- Meteorology;
- Remote sensing; and
- Social geosciences.

A department that provides an intellectual home for the rich diversity of South African academic talent, and that acknowledges its role in Africa.

Our mission

Our mission is to:

Provide excellent EDUCATION to promote the creation, application, advancement, transmission and preservation of knowledge in order to create flexible, lifelong learning opportunities for productive citizens and future leaders.
Encourage academically rigorous and socially meaningful RESEARCH.
Be LOCALLY RELEVANT with INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION.
Fit into the broader VISION and MISSION of the UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA.

Our focus

Research and education in the Department of GGM revolves around a common theme, namely SCIENCES CONCERNING OUR CHANGING LIVING ENVIRONMENT, with a cluster of focused disciplines in the following:

Environmental sciences;
Geomorphology;
Geoinformatics;
Human geography;
Meteorology; and
Remote sensing.

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