We are a QGIS Certified Organisation!
QGIS is developed by various dedicated volunteers and organizations. Participating in the development of the QGIS project can be done in many different ways: by developing new plugins, translating the program into new languages, fixing known bugs. The QGIS community wants to promote community involvement in the project and to enhance the quality of QGIS software training. For mainly these two reasons the community has launched the QGIS Certificate Program. An organisation providing training in QGIS software may apply to become a certified organisation. Once the QGIS community has approved the applicant, the organisation can issue certificates for people participating in their training. The list of certifying organisations can be seen here.
Gispo is the first, and so far only, QGIS Certified Organisation in Finland. As a certified organisation Gispo can issue certificates for our QGIS course participants. For each issued certificate a small fee is paid for the QGIS project. Small contributions create steady flow that supports the community and the development of the software. Thus by participating in our courses you’ll become a member of the QGIS community and help the development of QGIS.
Joona Rissanen, our head of training services, is happy that Gispo has been approved as a certified organisation. The certification also serves as a quality assurance for the courses.
“Participants benefit from certification as they will receive a certificate for the courses. The certificate can be used as part of a CV or LinkedIn profile to show for training in QGIS. The certificate comes with a unique identifier and link, so the authenticity can be confirmed. One further proof of authenticity is the course convener’s signature,” explains Joona.
During the application process the applicant must submit their training materials for review. However, excellent training materials alone are not enough to get accepted as a QGIS Certified Organisation. In addition the applicant needs to detail their contributions to the QGIS project. An active community is crucial in the development of open source software. Showing active involvement in the QGIS community was straightforward for Gispo, as we contribute to the QGIS project in many ways. Gispo’s CEO Sanna Jokela finds it important to support the QGIS project as a firm and on a personal level.
“For several years now, Gispo has been a sustaining member in the QGIS community, and issuing certificates is one more method in our aspiration to promote the use and development of open source software. Each time I download a new version of QGIS, I personally donate a small contribution to the community. And I wish everybody else would do the same. After all, QGIS is one of the most important tools for GI professionals. And the community is amazing!” Sanna concludes.
This article was initially published at www.gispo.fi
