Our GANS Social Spotlight continues, showcasing the people shaping Nova Scotia’s geomatics community.

Interested in being featured? Visit: https://lnkd.in/e8enpW84
(Keep in mind, you don’t need to be a GANS member!)

This week’s spotlight features Deena Shirkool, recent graduate of the GIS Graduate Certificate program at the Centre of Geographic Sciences, NSCC.

Q: What made you decide to study geomatics?
As an undergraduate student at the University of Toronto, I studied archaeology and was fascinated by the spatiotemporal patterns. I completed a minor in GIS alongside my archaeological courses to understand the foundation of geomatics. The majority of my coursework separated the applications of GIS from other archaeological methods, so I completed the graduate certificate at COGS to immerse myself in the software and techniques associated with GIS. As I grew more confident in the technical aspects, I was able to incorporate them into heritage and archaeological applications through my coursework.

Q: What did you work on for your final project?
I explored the use of QGIS and LANDSAT imagery in evaluating the patterns of anthropogenic disturbances in heritage sites located in the Akkar Governorate of Lebanon. I classified areas of potential disturbance through a combination of spectral indices for imagery spanning four decades and examined their spatial and temporal changes. The results highlighted both geographic locations of interest, as well as the connections to demographic and historical data that could be further explored in future research.

Q: What are your goals for after graduation?
I will begin my master’s in Archaeological Science at Leiden University in Fall 2026. Through my specialization in computational archaeology, I intend to incorporate the skills I developed at COGS to further examine the use of GIS in archaeology. In particular, I aim to harness the limitations of open-source software and data to make heritage conservation more accessible. In the future, I hope to contribute to the task forces that monitor endangered archaeological sites around the world.