UW-Whitewater GIS Center
UW-Whitewater GIS Center
We’re experts at building public-facing interactive maps and “story” maps using ArcGIS Online. We can help tell your story — science, policy, or public service — using ESRI’s ArcGIS Online platform. Hosting is available on UWW’s system or through your own account.
Old-school cartography still lives, and it’s at the heart of what we train our students about conveying meaning through maps. We know how to turn a complex topic into an effective visual representation.
We have FAA Part 107 pilots (and students in training) and a fleet of cutting-edge drones to create orthomosaics and 3D representations of your property and buildings. Additionally, we can conduct analysis to ascertain volumes or identify particular types of vegetation.
We get really excited when someone asks us to flex our muscles and conduct spatial analysis. Identifying relationships or trends through time, we’ve helped businesses assess marketing plans to analyzing future climate hazards in Wisconsin.
We generally start with one or more consultation meetings where we try to understand your project and goals. We discuss potential solutions, what we can and can’t do, and if there’s a good fit, generate a project proposal.
No, we’re part of UW-Whitewater and operate within the limits of a state agency. Additionally, students (who are paid) do a majority of the work on internships as part of their educational programs.
It depends. Our projects and contracts range from $2,000 to $100,000 in size. Most are small and are finished within a semester. However, we have had multi-year contracts that have involved over 10 students.
Our clients have ranged from non-profits, local county and city governments, state agencies, and private-sector companies.
Yes, we’re one of the many “centers” that exist at UW-Whitewater. All contracts run through our finance office and students and staff are paid through university payroll systems.
Some of the most valuable educational experiences our students have is when they interact with professionals that have a real task to accomplish. They learn more than just important technical skills but also how to manage projects, communicate professionally, and produce refined and quality products. Students who work at the Center are often the first to be hired upon graduation.
Yes, typically our biggest constraint are timelines. We have to work projects into the academic calendar and students’ other demands. Students often work 5-10 hours per week at most meaning it may take us longer to produce final products.
We have in the past for some non-profits or smaller projects that we can appropriately work into a class, e.g. drone mapping. Please feel free to reach out to us with your idea(s), and we’ll let you know if this may be an option.