Technology has undisputedly changed the way we travel from place to place in our current day and age. Need to get somewhere but don’t know the way? Simply key in your current location and desired destination on Grab’s Trip Planner tile and the different route options are mapped out for you to choose. Truly, how lost would we be in this day and age without a map?
If you’re keen to dive into the world of maps, community and exciting tech, you would not want to miss out on Grab’s Geo*Stars programme.
What is Geo*Stars all about?
Here at Grab, we care about the community around us. The Geo*Stars programme was designed specifically to help students across the region develop an understanding of key mapping skills and empower them to eventually conduct their own workshops for others in the community, under the framework of humanitarian efforts.
The program starts off with a series of workshops and trainings conducted by Grab’s very own Geo team. Following which, the majority of the program is student-led, but guided and supervised by Grab and the partner University. Through the programme, participants will get the opportunity to go on OpenStreetMap (OSM) mapping workshops for disaster risk areas, initiate exciting OSM mapping projects, showcase their work on Grab’s social media platforms, be a part of the global OpenStreetMap mapping community, and eventually conduct workshops to share their new-found knowledge and experiences with their peers in their communities. An exciting Mapathon event marks the end of the Geo*Stars programme. During this final event, participants stand to win various awards and everyone is presented with a certificate to mark their successful completion.
This Grab-led programme is run throughout one semester in University. Geo*Stars can either be integrated into the core curriculum of faculty courses or run as an external component, parallel to students’ academic curriculum. Grab provides the necessary training, expertise, and resources for students who are keen to pick up mapping skills, while students continue to build upon these for their peers by creating their very own workshops that they conduct for others in the community.
Our pilot program was launched in Vietnam National University of Agriculture on September 16, 2018. Since then, we’ve expanded the pilot to Universiti Teknologi Malaysia and are gearing up to partner with more Universities such as the National University of Singapore, Thammasat University and several other institutions within the region as well.
Geo*Stars and Mapathons in SEA – Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines
Geo*Stars is open to anyone (whether undergraduate or graduate) who is interested to learn more about maps and mapping. This may pertain to fields such as Geography, Urban Planning, Field Research, and Social Entrepreneurship, but we’re open to working with students from all disciplines to bring mapping to everyone!
Here at Grab, we are happy to play a part in empowering and bringing communities in SEA forward. Geo*Stars is a flag-ship program designed to do just that. If you are keen to learn more about the program and join us as a Geo Star – do reach out to us here!