YPN Introduction | Post Grad GIS Student

Question

Hi everyone! My name is Chris Fox, and I’m based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. I’m currently completing a Post-Grad GIS certificate at the NSCC Centre of Geographic Sciences and come from a background in Environmental Science with a strong interest in spatial analysis and environmental applications.

Alongside school, I work in the startup space at a tech innovation hub, which has sparked my interest in the intersection of GIS, product development, and AI. I’m especially passionate about making technical work more accessible and engaging for others. I’d also love to get more involved as a YPN Community/Content Ambassador.

Excited to connect and always happy to chat! I’ve been making an effort to share more of the projects I’m working on via LinkedIn as a way to put myself out there and grow. I’d love to exchange feedback and support others doing the same.

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-fox-15365b195/

prisha · Answer

Hello Chris! Nice to meet you!

I love how your work involves GIS and AI! It is really interesting to see how AI is changing the way we work. I have been learning about the different ways to implement AI into my geospatial analysis workflows. Do you have any favorite AI tools or libraries that you like to use?

Looking forward to learning about your projects on LinkedIn!

ChrisDFox · Answer

Hi Hailey, its nice to meet you as well! I feel the same way about AI freeing up time for deeper work. I’ve personally come across a lot of development around imagery classification and predictive modeling in GIS, but I’d love to see more focus on data and schema alignment. I spend so much time cleaning datasets from different sources. An AI layer that could intelligently suggest field mappings, flag inconsistencies, and help with QA/QC would make a HUGE impact.

HaileyTimmons · Answer

Hi Chris! It is so great to meet you. It is really interesting to see how you are applying your Environmental Science background to a GIS certificate. There is so much potential in that space, especially within the startup world.

I actually use AI almost every day myself to help create automations for updates. It has been a total game changer because it lets me spend more time working on more in depth projects that simply cannot be automated.

I am really looking forward to seeing the projects you share here! Since you mentioned an interest in product development, have you found a specific area where you think AI could most improve current GIS workflows?