Northwest partnering with NGA to produce topographic maps

Northwest Missouri State University and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) have entered into a partnership that will provide students with profession-based experience in the Geographic Information Science field while increasing NGA map production capability to meet national security challenges.

Northwest is one of three universities – joining Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville and Delta State University – on the NGA academia partnership. The partnership will provide internship and student employment opportunities for students studying GIScience.

“Northwest Missouri State University’s partnership with NGA is a prime example of the profession-based learning that enables our students to work on real-world tasks with hands-on professional skills and knowledge to match industry demands,” Northwest Professor of Geography Dr. Ming-Chih Hung said.

NGA delivers world-class geospatial intelligence to assist policymakers, warfighters, intelligence professionals and first responders while enabling the U.S. intelligence community and the Department of Defense to fulfill national security priorities. Its topographic maps support worldwide combat operations, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief and military training.

“Expansion of our academia partnerships is vital to NGA’s cartographic tradecraft modernization,” Mark Wayne, a senior GEOINT officer for cartography in the NGA’s Office of Geography, said. “These partnerships restore the cartographic tradecraft training at the university level, directly supporting NGA or through industrial partners.”

NGA cartographic subject matter experts will train students on map production techniques and capabilities enabling the production of 236 1:50,000-scale topographic maps during the course of the next fiscal year.

“These academic partnerships are creating the opportunity for students from these institutions to apply their cartographic skills to a real-life mission while simultaneously working on their college degrees,” Pamela Kremsberger, deputy production division chief in NGA’s Office of Geography, said.

Housed within Northwest’s Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, the University offers bachelor’s and online master’s degree programs as well as an online graduate certificate program in GIScience. For more information about the offerings and other Humanities and Social Science programs, visit www.nwmissouri.edu/socialsciences/programs/.