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The Remote Sensing education in China1

Cheng jichen
( The Department of Technical Training of NRSC)

Shi shimin
(Remote Sensing Application Center of University)

Xu xiru
(The Institute Of Remote Sensing Technology Of Peking University)


Review
When remote sensing technology is going ahead rapidly in or country, remote sensing education is gaining its own momentum too. We start remote sensing education concurrently with other projects of remote sensing in China. From 1975 to 1980 sixteen short courses were held in Peking University, each on lasted 1-3 months long. They did a great deal of propaganda and popularization of remote sensing technology. About 3,000 trainees took in these short courses, most of them had become a mainstay of productive units, research institutes and universities. The education program had greatly promoted development of remote sensing in China.

Our government had recognized that the remote sensing technology can not be developed without enough high level professors, engineers at all. So remote sensing education has been emphasized in many ways in our country. Therefore the Department of technical training of NRSC had been established. The united remote sensing application center of Universities was built by the State Education Commission. The Agricultural Remote Sensing Training Center was organized by Ministry of Agriculture. A special remote sensing training organization for city planning was established too, by The State Survey and Mapping Bureau up to now, more than one hundred Universities and opened courses of remote sensing and concerned subjects. There are at least 4,000-5,000 technicians to receive general remote sensing education each year. The remote sensing education in our country goes in many ways, which contains university education, Master degree study and doctorate programs. The on-job training, senior middle school education and special short course are also included. In recent year, the special technical training for Asia region had been successfully held by us. More than ten training materials and text books had been published. We had established dozens of well equipped laboratories equipped for remote sensing education. All in all the education system of remote sensing had taken its form in our country.

It is a general tendency of development of modern remote sensing technology to combine remote sensing data with information system. So the knowledge concerned information system has been included into our courses. The total courses contain remote sensing physics. digital image processing for remote sensing, optical processing of remote sensing image, the principal of remote sensing image visual interpretation , infrared remote sensing, micro-wave remote sensing, remote sensing mapping, areophotography , remote sensing geology , remote sensing oceanography, agricultural remote sensing, soil remote sensing, vegetation remote sensing ( including forestry remote sensing), hydrology remote sensing, and so on. In recent year, computer language, data format, data base, information system, artificial intelligence, and knowledge engineering are also required for postgraduates.

The Universities which had opened Remote Sensing courses
At present, more than one hundred universities had opened courses about remote sensing technology. Among them the Wuhan University of Survey and Mapping Technology had established a department named aerophotography and remote sensing. A section of remote sensing geology had been set in Department of geology of Zhejiang University. The rest universities ah opened 1-3 course concerned remote sensing. There are various kinds of universities in remote sensing, such as universities directly under the leadership of State Education Commision, universities administrated by Ministry of Mineral Resource, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Forestry, Ministry of Railway, Ministry of Hydrology , Bureau of Survey and Mapping, Bureau of Meteorology, and some military universities . There are many disciplines to connect with remote sensing technology, geography , geology, agriculture, forest, aerophotography and mapping, oceanography and hydrology, mathematics, computer science, physics and electronics, Among them, department of geography opened the most amount courses concerning remote sensing , 39% of their total courses Department of geology stands second 15%, Department of aerophotography occupies 12%, Department of agriculture has 10%, Department of computer science has 5% courses connected with remote sensing.

Peking University had opened a course "an introduction to remote sensing" for selections of whole university students. According to statistics, the number of students to take remote sensing courses are as follows:

Geography 60
Geology 100
Computer science 70
Geophysics 20.


The total number is about 450 per year. Based on this figure, we estimate 5,000 students to attend remote sensing lectures in our country every year.

The program for postgraduates
This program contains master degree and Docterate. The former has large number, the later just has a few. These program are carried out mainly in universities and Chinese Academy Of Science.

The Program of master degree for remote sensing was established in 1987. At that time , the DTT enrolled ten students, then the Institute of Remote Sensing Application of Chinese Academy of Science started enrolment. Now the Units authorized by state to have right to run master degree program are as follows:

Sort Name
University Peking University, Qinghua University, Nanjing University,

Chinese Schence and Technology University, Zhejiang University,

Beijing Normal University, East China Normal University,

Beijing Agtriculcture University, Nanjing Forest University,

North-east Normal University, Zhongshan University,

Chinese Geology University, Beijing Forest University,

Wuhan Survey and Mapping Technology University,

Changchun Geology College, Chendou Geology College,

South-West Communication University, Lanzhou University.
Chinese Academy of Science Institute of Remote Sensing Application,

Institute of Geography,

Institute of Geography of ChangChun,

Institute of Geography of CHendou,

Institute of Soil of Nanjin,

Institute of Electronics,

Institute of Desertification,

Institute of Glacier,

Institute of Desaster of Mountainous Area,

Institute of Physical Technology of Shanghai,

Institute of Optical Technology of Changchun,

Institute of Optical Technology of Anhui.


The DTT can be treated as an example, from 1987 to 1989, 107 students to be enrolled, among them 74 had already got Master degree, 30% came from geology, 27% came from geography, 6% came from aerophotography, 12% came from physical concerned departments, 5% came from mathematics. Among 74 persons, now 14-20% went abroad for further study, 13-19% worked for universities, 16-21% worked for various ministries , the rest had join commercial companies.

The doctorate program was established in 1984. The University of Survey and Mapping Technology, Institute of Remote sensing of Peking University, Chinese Geology University had been authorized to run dortorate program. Qinhua University and State Laboratory of Environment and Resource Information System co-operated with other disciplines to run doctorate program. Up to now, less than 20 persons are enrolled in doctorate program.

Remote Sensing courses
According to our statistics, 14 courses had been opened for 13 disciplines. Remote Sensing image processing course was taken by many departments. Introduction to remote sensing and optical image processing method were listed second. The courses for postgraduate cover various disciplines and are more theoretical than those for university students. Many problems had been tackled in the course. For example, the master degree students of DTT have to spend one and half years mainly for paper.

The name of courses opened by DTT for master degree students are listed below:

Name of Courses Hours
1. Remote sensing of physics

2. Digital Remote Sensing image processing method

3. Optical Remote Sensing image processing method

4. Visual interpretation of remote sensing image

5. Arial remote sensing

6. Infrered remote sensing

7. Micro wave remote sensing

8. Remote sensing mapping

9. Data base and information system

10. Computer program

11. Special topics
geology remote sensing

oceanography remote sensing

vegetation remote sensing

agriculture remote sensing

city remote sensing

natural disaster remote sensing
80

120

80

60

60

40

40

40

120

40



20

20

20

20

20

20


The paper for master degree should reach certain level to some scientific problem or production problem.

Many topics had been tackled by students, such as
  1. Crop yield estimation by remote sensing method;
  2. Biomass estimation of remote sensing;
  3. The model and information system for mineral exploration;
  4. The information system for city land evaluation;
  5. The information system for evaluation of investment environment;
  6. Soil erosion model and its expert system;
  7. City's heat-island monitoring by remote sensing;
  8. Soil moisture and heat-inertia measurement by remote sensing;
  9. The decomposing method of mixed pixel;
  10. The rectification of atmospheric effect and topography.
The doctoratet program runs for three years . The courses for doctorate are much less than Master's . Seminars are more often taken by doctorate program. Main subjects are as follows:
  1. The mechanism of remote sensing information. The model of remote sensing application. Information system.
  2. Artificial intelligence. Knowledge engineer and experts system.
  3. The frontier problem were faced before remote sensing circles.
The short courses of Remote Sensing
The short course training is an important form of remote sensing education. It contributed a lot to remote sensing cause not only at the beginning, but also at present. Now many special short courses have been held by universities , Institutes of Chinese Academy of Science, production units, even by companies. Two kinds of short courses are carried out nowadays.
  1. To introduce advanced remote sensing technology;
  2. To populize remote sensing knowledge of some special subjects.
The main units which undertake the responsibility of short course education are DTT of NRSC, the Training Center of Agriculture Remote Sensing and the University of Survey and mapping Technology. One or two short courses will be held every year.

We always invite foreign experts to open some short courses in China, Most of them are one of part of technical aid program. Nowadays we begin to do some thing for Asia . One form is to open short courses for them, such as the three-week optical image processing method was held by DTT of NRSC in 1989.22 persons came from eleven countries. Good results had been gained. A short course will be held by Chinese Academy Of Science in 1991 for Remote Sensing association of third world.

Short term advanced research is another form of remote sensing education. For example, 2 to 3 persons will take this training in DTT every year.

The material of Remote Sensing education
There are many books published:
  1. An introduction to remote sensing , 1984, Maainai;
  2. An introduction to remote sensing 1985, Maainai;
  3. Remote sensing physics, 1982, Yusihua;
  4. The principle of digital image processing and its applications, 1987, Litiefang;
  5. Pattern recognization, Shenkuichang;
  6. Optical image processing method;
  7. The practical remote sensing image optical processing method and correlative covering method and their application, Yanshouyong;
  8. Remote sensing and image interpretation, Chenqinsen and Chenbinxian;
  9. Infrared arial remote sensing;
  10. .Micro wave remote sensing;
  11. The course of remote sensing image geological interpretation, Ju liangpu;
  12. The principle of remote sensing and its geological engineering interpretation, Zhuo baoxi;
  13. Agriculture remote sensing, Guo deyou;
  14. The remote sensing application of soil and water resource research, Ju dachuan;
  15. The research of sool remote sensing technology;
  16. The analysis method of remote sensing image and its application in forest, Fang youqin;
  17. The investigation of soil erosion with remote sensing data, Pu beisong;.
  18. Satellite remote sensing and mapping, Goshugui;
  19. The state standard of information system of resource and environment;
  20. The theory and method of geography information system, Lingjuling;
  21. The principle of data bank and method, Zhenjizhong;
  22. Areophotogeography;
  23. Oceangraphy remote sensing;
  24. The geological interpretation of Landsat image
  25. Agriculture remote sensing, Lingpei.
Three seasonal periodicals are published in China:
  1. Remote sensing information
  2. Remote sensing of environment
  3. The remote sensing of soil and resource.
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  1. The material and data used by us in this paper need further confirm, Please don't cite them as proof.