Since the inception of the SuperMap National GIS Competition for Higher Education Students (hereinafter referred to as the "GIS Competition"), batches of excellent supervising instructors have emerged. The teams they led performed exceptionally well, taking the lead and winning the championship in the competition. We are launching the "Revelations from Excellent Instructors" series, aiming to provide all instructors who are participating or planning to participate in the GIS Competition with some professional guidance experience and unique tips.

Teacher Wang Mingjun from Wuhan University, honored as an Excellent Instructor in the GIS Competition, has guided student teams to repeatedly achieve outstanding results over the years. Today, we invite Teacher Wang Mingjun to share his valuable experience in topic selection guidance, the process of guiding projects, key elements of excellent works, and more.

Wang Mingjun, Senior Experimentalist at the School of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Wuhan University. Main research directions: Theory and Technology of Web GIS, GIS Engineering Design and Development.

ⅠOn Topic Selection Guidance

Q: What characteristics do you think a good topic should possess?

A: For participating in a national-level GIS competition, topic selection should prioritize innovation and cutting-edge nature. For example, combine new technologies (from web to mobile, Internet of Things, AI integration) or interdisciplinary methods (ecological environment, urban planning) to expand the application boundaries of GIS. Focus on social hot topics (healthy aging care, circular economy) or national strategies (rural revitalization, the "Belt and Road" Initiative, sustainable development) as guidance, using new perspectives and technologies to solve new problems.

Secondly, consider feasibility and practicality, such as whether the technical approach is viable, whether data acquisition is reliable, whether development time is sufficient, and whether basic resources meet the preset requirements of the topic. Finally, consider the cultivation of students' practical application abilities. That is, from the perspective of GIS system engineering, aim for the comprehensive cultivation of abilities like spatial data processing, spatial analysis and modeling, cartography and visualization, etc., to guide the student team in completing the topic selection and strengthen the improvement of individual and team GIS professional skills.

Q: How do you help students screen and finalize topics to ensure they are both innovative and practically feasible?

A: Having led teams in various GIS competitions for many years, from self-selected topics to assigned development and cartography groups, there have been successes and failures. But from the perspective of cultivating students' GIS skills, there is no failure; all are gains.

Regarding topic direction, first, we analyze the topic directions of past award-winning teams in the GIS competition, briefly analyzing technical difficulties, development models, and presentation forms of outcomes. We guide the student team to brainstorm, with each member researching different potential topics, collecting data, identifying the potential technical systems, implementation methods, and outcome presentation, and creating a basic outline.

After about a week of preparation, the team gathers for discussion. Based on the innovative points and difficulties identified by individuals, we hold a collective discussion to determine the direction that interests the team the most as the final topic. After determining the topic, guide team members to pay more attention to industry development trends and the forefront of new technology systems.

From data collection, innovative function development, selection of indicator factors, to the application of new visualization methods and outcome presentation, assign individual tasks, organize materials, and prepare technically. Gather the team again for discussion, analyze the current status, existing problems, and solutions at each stage. For the innovative parts, guide the development of both basic implementation and enhanced innovation plans, ensuring the topic or functions are innovative while guaranteeing overall coherence and technical feasibility.

ⅡOn the Guidance Process

Q: Before students start creating their projects, what aspects do you guide them on?

A: In 2024, leading 5 groups (4 assigned development groups, 1 cartography group), after the topics were determined, and based on the specific situation of each team, I irregularly checked the implementation progress of each team, focusing mainly on technical implementation and outcome presentation for guidance.

In terms of technical implementation, the focus was on basic function optimization and extended function realization, such as base map styling and publishing, integration of CRUD operations for thematic data, software implementation of route planning versus spatial database implementation, etc., providing students with development ideas and technical guidance. In terms of outcome presentation, guide students to focus on user experience: novel style, clear layout, intuitive navigation, simple operation of functions, efficient interaction, and conforming to commonly accepted operation habits.

Q: What problems do you pay attention to during the students' production process, and how do you help solve them?

A: While completing the competition project, as most students already have a foundation in web development, the focus is often on two types of issues: implementing core functions within the specified software, and whether extended functions are supported. For the former, combining training guidance and online resources can usually resolve them quickly.

For the latter, more development experience is needed. In specific guidance, students are guided to use various methods such as spatial database technology, open-source JS libraries, and third-party professional software, using exchange data formats as interfaces to achieve integration of different technologies and complete the development of extended functions.

Ⅲ On Key Elements of an Excellent Work

Q: What elements do you think an excellent project should possess?

A: From the perspective of the assigned topic group, an excellent project should have a high degree of requirement matching, a relatively advanced technical architecture, friendly interaction, and a certain level of innovation.

The GIS industry has wide applications, with different focuses in various fields. For development in the assigned topic group, teams work under a unified general direction and basic implementation framework. To be competitive, teams need to deeply explore requirements based on the software's functions and extensions, building basic functional modules and more professional analysis modules.

In terms of technical system, try to adopt the latest architecture and cutting-edge technologies, making efforts from the perspectives of efficiency and functional integration to boost industry development and promote industry progress.

From the user's perspective, design the interface layout, colors, operations, feedback, etc., to have good interactive functions and meet application needs as much as possible. Innovation is also an element of an excellent work. The younger generation learns efficiently and absorbs new knowledge quickly. Introducing new technologies and methods in various stages of completing the project can indirectly promote the advancement of industry technology.

Q: Based on your experience, what aspects are students most likely to overlook when creating their projects?

A: Due to a lack of necessary practical project experience, the main shortcomings in student submissions lie in the following areas:

• Focusing more on function implementation, neglecting user interaction experience. In the actual completion of the work, emphasis is placed on the underlying logic of functions and specific parameter settings, with information expression being data-centric. They often fail to base their work on the user's perspective to achieve user-friendly functions, clear prompts, and accurate and reasonable information display through interaction and feedback.
• Developing functional modules independently, neglecting team integration and coordination. As it's a team competition, different functional modules are completed by respective members. Differences in interface colors, layouts, interactions, and feedback of each module may exist during development. During later integration, due to time constraints, team integration is often overlooked, requiring further teamwork and overall optimization.
• Active thinking and free-spirited individuality, neglecting industry standards and specifications. In the information age, university students are exposed to abundant information. They generally have active thinking, and advocate individuality and freedom. The expression of their work results might use rich colors and unconventional presentation, potentially ignoring industry standards and specifications for basic and thematic information expression. From the perspective of judges/users, this might instead produce poor results. There needs to be a comprehensive consideration of following industry norms and standards while also balancing innovation.

Ⅳ Suggestions for Instructing Teachers

Q: Do you have any suggestions for instructing teachers, and thoughts on guiding work for this competition

A: Every participating student has shining ideas – this is my reflection from guiding students in various GIS competitions and innovation/entrepreneurship projects. Every time I receive a development assignment or a student's topic choice, I myself sort out the entire technical system, envision the form of the outcome, and consider how to innovate.

When communicating with the student team and listening to their opinions, their unique perspectives on problems and innovative ideas for outcome presentation often bring a fresh perspective. This kind of communication and collision is lacking in classroom teaching and is a good opportunity for mutual understanding and learning. No pain, no gain. As long as you put in the effort, there will always be reward. The competition is different from regular teaching; it relies more on students' active participation and completion of the tasks required by the competition, without any coercion.

Regarding competition guidance, it is recommended that instructing teachers regularly communicate with the student team and individuals to understand their progress, difficulties, and existing problems.

When necessary, hold concentrated discussions to find solutions, providing guidance throughout the entire competition cycle and promoting the implementation of progress and effectiveness for the participating team.

Admittedly, regardless of the final result, students can continuously learn, improve, and gain greatly throughout the entire process. And when intensive cultivation breaks through a threshold, qualitative change automatically triggers. Instructing teachers will also gradually form a virtuous cycle, guiding more teams in the future and expanding their own research directions.

ⅤSuggestions for Participating Students

Q: What suggestions do you have for students participating in this year's GIS Competition?

A: Based on years of guidance experience, for participating students:

First, have an accurate topic direction while also considering innovation. With the continuous emergence of various GIS competitions and the increasing number and ability of participating teams, to stand out from the crowd, you need a clear topic direction, accurate mastery of the core technical system, function implementation, and outcome presentation. Furthermore, having innovation in these aspects is necessary to gain recognition and achieve better results.

Second, focus on more communication with the instructing teacher. Past experience shows that some team members might not have even met the instructing teacher. As a team, the teacher is also a member – not just nominally, but involved in practically grasping the entire implementation process of the project. Whether online or offline, any communication and discussion within the team can include the teacher. Only in this way can it better help improve students' professional abilities and enhance the team's performance.

Third, pay attention to close cooperation among the students in the participating team. As a whole, the implementation process requires team members to independently complete different functional modules, then integrate, debug, and finally present the outcomes. Assistance from peripheral team members, etc., all require brainstorming, continuous innovation, and optimization. Through mutual communication and learning, progress together, and repeated polishing, a quality product can be produced.