During my undergraduate years, I have learnt about Open Street Map as a prominent example of volunteered geographic information. However, there is always great inertia adding new data into the map and there are two main reasons: First, I am afraid that my input would be inaccurate, which might compromise data quality. Second, many areas in Singapore have already been quite well-mapped - including my neighbourhood. Given that I do not have updated local knowledge of other parts of the world, my concern is that satellite imagery alone may not help me to map areas well.

My concerns were finally allayed after attending my first workshop as part of the Grab GeoStars 2.0 programme. This programme features a series of workshops and trainings conducted by Grab’s very own Geo team. Following which, the majority of the programme 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 GeoStars programme.

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