AGI Northern Ireland
AGI Northern Ireland (AGI NI) was officially launched in 2002 to help raise awareness of geographic information and to encourage data and knowledge sharing.
Over the years, our mission has developed to reflect the changing industry, society and environment around us by actively supporting a sustainable future for our geospatial community.
Since our formation, we have established strong partnerships with public and private sector organisations locally as well as further afield. Along with the support of our partners, AGI NI has representation on the AGI Council which helps steer the direction of the Association and the support it offers to Northern Ireland.
AGI NI hosts a yearly conference which brings together keynote speakers, presenters and offers an opportunity to display your geospatial work with the poster exhibition. A call for papers goes out in advance and everyone with an interest in GI is welcome to participate.
Along with the annual conference, AGI NI hosts other events including public seminars in collaboration with our network of partners (e.g. academic and private sector organisations). Traditionally, we hold a networking and information event during GIS week in November. Our events showcase a wide range of interests including environmental sustainability, infrastructure development, future GI developments, healthcare and social developments through greenspaces and access to provisions.
Benefits of joining AGI NI and AGI include:
- Networking opportunities with the NI Geospatial Community
- Continual Professional Development opportunities
- Opportunities to present your projects at Conferences and Seminars
- Career information and job opportunities across the UK
- Knowledge sharing, thought leadership and events sponsored by AGI Council
The current AGI NI Committee comprises 15 active members representing both the public and private sector who coordinate and organise events throughout the year. Our events include the annual conference, seminars and networking which bring the NI geospatial community together. These events offer support for professionals, early career networking, continuing professional development and business related opportunities.
We recognise that our volunteer members and those with an interest in the geospatial industry have played a vital role in the success of AGI NI and we are looking to build upon this further. If you are interested in supporting our mission and joining our growing geospatial community, please do consider AGI membership and we hope to see you at an event soon.
AGI NI Committee
Andrew Paul (AGI Northern Ireland Chair)
A member since 2017, Andrew assumed the role of Chair for the AGI NI committee in January 2024. Andrew started out his career in the Geospatial Industry as an aerial surveyor and photogrammetrist after completing an MSc in GIS at Ulster University. Andrew moved on to become the Spatial NI Manager at Ordnance Survey Northern Ireland and has worked within the Geospatial Industry for over 10 years. Now Andrew is the Managed Service Lead at IMGS and works with clients across Ireland, delivering software support and creating data-driven solutions. Andrew's main interests in the Geospatial field are in Remote Sensing and 3D geospatial data and is an advocate for using new technology to advance uptake of this in the Irish GIS community.
Rico Santiago (AGI Northern Ireland Vice Chair)
Rico is Vice-Chair of the AGI NI Committee after acting as Chair for 8 years since 2016, and has over 15 years' experience providing GI services in both public and private sectors in the United States and Northern Ireland. He enjoys his current role as the Head of Business Development at the Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland, where he's able to leverage mapping, location data, and GI innovation to support the delivery of government and public services. Graduating from the University of California (UCSB) with a Master's degree in Environmental Science and Management, and a Bachelor's degree in Geography, he has a deep interest in the application of geospatial technologies for the public good.
Sara Stewart (AGI Council Representative)
Sara is a consultant with over ten years of experience in the geospatial industry across academic, public sector and international settings. She brings broad experience of harnessing the value of geospatial data to generate new insights, support decision-making and policy development at strategic levels across a variety of sectors including education, health, emergency preparedness and response, cultural heritage, and asset management. She currently acts as a consultant for an intergovernmental organisation to develop greater capacity in the integration of statistical and geospatial data in support of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, working with a range of national and intergovernmental organisations across Europe. Sara sits on the AGI Council and acts as the Northern Ireland Representative, bringing the views of the region to Council.
Alex Donald - Geological Survey Northern Ireland
Alex is a geology graduate from Queen’s University Belfast and has worked at the Geological Survey of Northern Ireland for over 20 years. He worked on the Tellus project and leads on GSNI’s Digital Transformation and Baseline Geoscience. He is a supporter of Open Source software, using these to deliver GSNI data products. He has a number of publications including the “A Guide to the Tellus Data”, “Unearthed” and “Rambling on the Rocks”. He has an interest in urban geology and was previously involved in the delivery of the EU TU1206 COST Sub-Urban project.
Gareth Young - Ordnance Survey Northern Ireland
Gareth has over 15 years’ experience delivering geospatial information services for Ordnance Survey Northern Ireland (OSNI) including the development and growth of their web mapping platform and advising on the technical integration of geospatial data within public sector IT systems. He currently enjoys his role as Head of Geospatial Service Architecture, Address Management and Data Governance. Graduating with a BSc (Hons) in Geography from Queen’s University Belfast and an MSc (Distinction) in Geographical Information Systems from Ulster University, he is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, a Chartered Geographer with specialism in GIS (CGeog (GIS)) and has served on the AGI Northern Ireland Board since 2014.
Malcolm Calvert - Department for Infrastructure - Rivers
Malcolm is a Chartered Engineer and Member of the British Computer Society. He has over 20 years’ experience of working with Geographical Information Systems and is currently in charge of the Modelling & Mapping Unit within DfI’s Rivers Agency. The Unit are responsible for river & coastal modelling and production of flood maps; and for corporate GI management within the Agency.
Christine Armour - LANDCLAN
Christine brings over a decade of experience in GIS and Remote Sensing to the AGI NI Committee. She holds a Master’s degree in GIS from Ulster University and a BSc in Geography from Queen’s University Belfast. Beginning her career as a Mapping and Charting Officer at Ordnance Survey Northern Ireland, she worked in aerial survey, research and production management roles. Christine’s varied experience also includes serving in the Royal School of Military Survey as a Lecturer and Head of Department for GIS with focus on advanced Spatial Analysis. A current Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, Christine currently holds the position of Principal Analyst at LANDCLAN.
John Hewitt -Geolytical
John has over 15 years’ experience in the GI field and is currently a Senior GI Consultant with the SOPRA Group. He is mad about GI, especially all things open.
Dr Lorraine Barry -Department of Infrastructure
Lorraine Barry is a Transport Planner and Modeller within the Department for Infrastructure and has over 20 years’ experience as a Geographical Information Scientist with a background in GIS for teaching, training and research. Lorraine has developed many years of experience in FOSS4G (Free and Open Source for Geospatial) and python programming for geographical data science and geo-visualisation. Lorraine enjoys continuously learning and developing in the field of GI Science. She graduated from Queen's University Belfast with a BSc in Geography in 2001 and from the University of Leeds in 2003 with an MA distinction in GIS for Business and Service Planning.
Laurence Donaghy -Translink
Laurence is Asset Data and Systems Analyst in Translink within the Infrastructure Systems & Performance section, assisting in the delivery of the organisations digital information management and corporate GIS systems. In previous careers Laurence has been a secondary school Science & Geography teacher, Deputy Project Manager within Northern Ireland Water delivering the ADAI project, Project Manager for a not-for-profit education charity delivering STEM programmes for young people of all ages within NI and he has also been a Laboratory Manager and an Environmental Educator. Laurence has a keen commitment to the furthering of the GIS sector and supporting development of GI professionals and sits on the AGI NI committee.
Katherine Smyth - Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland
Katherine is a GIS manager supporting the work and development of the Northern Ireland Mapping Agreement within Ordnance Survey Northern Ireland for over 5 years whilst also supporting the Geospatial Development for the Department for Infrastructure Roads Branch. As a member since 2018, Katherine represented AGI NI on the AGI Council for 6 years and has taken this experience regionally to develop the Geospatial Community in Northern Ireland. Katherine has a keen commitment to supporting development of GI and GI professionals across the industry and sits on the AGI NI committee.
Michelle McKee - KOREC
Michelle McKee is the Geospatial Business Manager within KOREC Group, who specialise in providing measurement solutions, surveying equipment & mapping systems for the geospatial, engineering & construction sectors in the UK and Ireland. She graduated from National University of Ireland Maynooth with a BSc in Geography and an MSc in Environmental Resource Management and GIS. Michelle has many years of experience in the GI Industry, working in both public and private sector, in GIS and Surveying Roles. Michelle has a keen commitment to the furthering of the GIS sector and supporting development of GI professionals and sits on the AGI NI Committee.
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