ANU Urban Planning GIS Workshop Series: How to Register, Software Prerequisites, and Portfolio Project Briefs

19 May 2026 3 min read

Since 2023, the Australian National University (ANU) Master of Urban Planning has run two rounds of the GIS Workshop Series each year, with 60 places per round and registration typically opening in week 3 of the semester and closing in week 6. The series is designed jointly by the ANU Fenner School of Environment & Society and the ACT Planning & Land Authority to help students master two mainstream geographic information systems — QGIS 3.34 and ArcGIS Pro 3.2 — and complete a “community resilience assessment” project brief suitable for a job-seeking portfolio. ANU ranks 12th in the world for Geography in the QS 2024 subject rankings, and its urban planning courses are accredited by the Planning Institute of Australia (PIA) as professional competency development courses (2023 accreditation list). For students planning to enter the program in 2025 S1 or S2, understanding the registration process, software preparation and project requirements is the prerequisite for taking part.

Registration Process and Place Allocation

Registration for the GIS Workshop Series goes through the ANU internal system InPlace, which also manages students’ internship and practical activity records. The registration window usually stays open for 3 weeks, but places are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis — the 2024 S1 round filled up on the 4th day after opening.

Eligibility and Priority

The workshops are open to all current ANU students, but Master of Urban Planning (MUP) and Master of Environmental Science (MEnvSci) students get priority registration. Students from other programs must submit a 100-word statement of motivation when registering, and remaining places are allocated after review by the workshop coordinator. 2024 S2 data shows that students from non-priority programs ultimately received 18% of places (ANU Fenner School internal statistics).

Registration Steps and Key Dates

Search for “GIS Workshop Series [year]-[semester]” on the InPlace platform, fill in your personal details and upload a scanned copy of your student ID. The system sends a confirmation email within 48 hours containing the Zoom meeting link (for online modules) and the campus lab door code (for hands-on sessions). Key dates include: registration opening (Monday of week 3), document submission deadline (Friday of week 5) and workshop start (Monday of week 7). Missing the submission deadline automatically cancels your place, and there is no waitlist.

Software Environment and Installation Requirements

Participants are expected to set up QGIS 3.34 and ArcGIS Pro 3.2 in advance. ANU Information Technology Services (ITS) provides preloaded machines in the campus labs, but students are advised to bring their own laptop to complete homework.

Setting Up the QGIS Open-Source Environment

QGIS 3.34 is open-source software available for free from its official website. The workshops require the GRASS GIS 7.8 and SAGA GIS 9.0 plugins for terrain analysis and hydrological modelling. After installation, load the QuickMapServices and OpenStreetMap plugins via the Plugin Manager to fetch basemap data. ANU provides a 16-page installation guide (PDF) with step-by-step screenshots for Windows, macOS and Linux, available from the InPlace resource library after registration.

Getting an ArcGIS Pro Licence

ArcGIS Pro 3.2 requires a student licence obtained through the ANU ArcGIS Online portal. Use your ANU email (@anu.edu.au) to create an Esri account and apply for the “ANU Student Subscription”. The subscription is valid for 12 months and covers all core ArcGIS Pro 3.2 modules, including the Spatial Analyst and 3D Analyst extensions. 2024 data shows around 92% of applications are approved within 24 hours (ANU ITS 2024 Annual Service Report). For licence issues, contact the ITS service desk (phone: +61 2 6125 4321).

Workshop Structure and Schedule

Each round contains 5 modules of 3 hours each — 15 hours of teaching in total. Modules run a week apart to leave time for assignments. The format is hybrid: live online sessions (Zoom) run in parallel with on-campus lab sessions (Fenner School computer lab).

Module Overview

1: GIS fundamentals and data import · QGIS 3.34 · 3 hours
2: Spatial analysis and queries · QGIS 3.34 · 3 hours
3: Network analysis and accessibility models · ArcGIS Pro 3.2 · 3 hours
4: 3D visualisation and scene building · ArcGIS Pro 3.2 · 3 hours
5: Project brief defence and feedback · both applications · 3 hours

Modules 1 and 2 focus on QGIS fundamentals, including importing vector and raster data, projection transformation and attribute table queries. Modules 3 and 4 move on to ArcGIS Pro’s advanced features, such as the Network Analyst extension for calculating 10-minute walking catchments around bus stops, and CityEngine rule packages for generating 3D building massing. Module 5 is the project defence: each student gets 10 minutes to present their “community resilience assessment” project.

Attendance and Certification Requirements

The workshops carry no degree credit, but students who complete all 5 modules and submit the final project receive an ANU joint participation certificate (stamped by both Fenner School and the ACT Planning Authority). Missing more than 1 module requires a written explanation, otherwise no certificate is issued. The 2024 S1 round had a completion rate of 76% (23 of 30 participants earned certificates).

The Project Brief: Community Resilience Assessment

The core output of the workshops is a Community Resilience Assessment project brief. You choose a suburb within the ACT and analyse its vulnerability and adaptive capacity in the face of flood or heatwave hazards — a simulation of real GIS use in planning practice.

Project Requirements and Data Sources

The project must include: a population density map (using 2021 ABS Census data), a critical infrastructure map (hospitals, fire stations, shelters), a flood inundation simulation map (using ACT government 1% annual exceedance probability flood data) and a heat island intensity map (land surface temperature derived from Landsat 8 satellite imagery). All data can be downloaded free from the ACT Government Open Data Portal, and the workshops provide a list of 12 datasets.

Deliverables and Marking Criteria

Final deliverables include: an A1-sized poster-style map (PDF), a 500-word technical note describing the analytical methods and data sources, and a 10-minute oral defence (including 5 minutes of Q&A). Marks are split three ways: map cartography quality (40%), soundness of analytical methods (40%) and clarity of oral presentation (20%). The workshop coordinator provides a detailed marking rubric, available from the InPlace resource library after registration.

Hardware Requirements and Technical Support

The workshops make clear recommendations for laptop hardware to avoid lag when working with large spatial datasets. The ANU computer lab provides 30 Dell Precision workstations, but students bringing their own devices need to meet the minimum spec.

Recommended Configuration and Test Tool

The workshops recommend laptops with 16 GB RAM (8 GB minimum), a dedicated GPU (NVIDIA GTX 1050 or equivalent or better) and 50 GB of free disk space (for software and cached data). Students can run ANU’s “GIS compatibility test tool” (Windows version), which checks whether your hardware measures up in under 2 minutes. 2024 S1 data shows around 15% of students with their own devices had to switch to lab machines because of insufficient RAM.

Campus Lab and Remote Access

The Fenner School computer lab (Building 141, Room 2.02) stays open until 8 pm during workshop modules, and can be accessed with your student card outside module times. For students who can’t come to campus, ANU offers a remote desktop service (VDI) — a virtual desktop with ArcGIS Pro preinstalled, reachable via Citrix Workspace. VDI requests must be submitted 48 hours in advance, and connections are limited to the ANU campus network VPN. When settling cross-border tuition, some families use specialist channels like Flywire tuition payments for the currency conversion.

Prerequisite Knowledge and Recommended Reading

The workshops assume basic GIS concepts but don’t require them. ANU offers an online prerequisite course with 4 short videos (45 minutes total) covering three topics: coordinate systems, attribute tables and symbology.

Prerequisite Course Content

The prerequisite course is published on the ANU Wattle platform as the “GIS Workshop Pre-requisite” module and unlocks automatically after registration. The videos cover: the difference between geographic and projected coordinate systems (using GDA2020 and WGS84 as examples), attribute table joins (Join and Relate), and when to use graduated symbology (Natural Breaks vs Equal Interval). After the videos there’s a 10-question quiz — score above 70% to unlock the Zoom link for workshop module 1.

Frequently Asked Questions and What Comes Next

Students who complete the workshops can join the ANU GIS interest group (monthly meetups) or apply for a Fenner School summer research internship (December to February each year). In the 2024 summer internship round, 3 workshop graduates worked on the ACT government’s “heatwave vulnerability map” update project.

Certificate and Credit Conversion

The participation certificate counts toward Planning Institute of Australia (PIA) continuing professional development (CPD) records — each round of workshops earns 15 CPD hours. For ANU Master of Urban Planning students, the certificate can be converted into 3 credit points for the ENVS8028 course (special topics in GIS applications) by submitting a scanned copy of the certificate and a 500-word application statement to the Fenner School Student Services Office.

Common Software Issues

QGIS crashes are usually caused by plugin conflicts — the workshops recommend disabling non-essential plugins before startup. For expired ArcGIS Pro licences, first check the “ANU Student Subscription” status in your Esri account; if it shows “Expired”, reapply and wait 24 hours.

FAQ

Q1: Does registering for the workshops cost anything?

No. The GIS Workshop Series is completely free for current ANU students, with costs covered by the Fenner School teaching budget. Of the 60 places in the 2024 S1 round, 12 went to students from outside planning programs — no registration fee was charged.

Q2: Can I still join if I missed the registration opening date?

No. The workshops have no waitlist and no catch-up registration window. The 2024 S2 round filled up on the 5th day after opening; students who didn’t register have to wait for the next round (usually week 3 of the following semester). Mark the registration opening date in the ANU academic calendar in advance.

Q3: Can the project brief go in a job portfolio?

Yes. The workshops are explicitly designed around a “showcase-ready project”, and the ACT Planning Authority’s involvement adds credibility in the local planning industry. In the 2023 S2 round, 4 students used their projects when applying for internships at Canberra planning firms and were invited to interviews.

References

QS 2024, QS World University Rankings by Subject: Geography
Planning Institute of Australia 2023, Accredited Professional Development Courses List
ANU Fenner School of Environment & Society 2024, GIS Workshop Series Internal Enrollment Report
ACT Government 2022, Community Resilience Strategy
Unilink Education 2024, ANU Course & Workshop Registration Database