Dr Naa Dedei Tagoe of the University of Mines and Technology (UMaT) has been promoted by the university to Associate Professor of Geomatics, making her the first female professor in Geomatics specializing in Photogrammetry and UAV applications in Ghana, a report on Ghana’s myjoyonline.com stated.
Tagoe, a geomatics engineer specializing in Photogrammetry, Geographic Information Systems, UAV/drone mapping, land surveying, and Remote Sensing, is a lecturer at UMaT in Ghana, with over 15 years of teaching and research experience.
She applies geospatial science to tackle food security, sustainable mining, community empowerment and climate issues. Over the years, she has been behind a program that provides employable skills to economically disadvantaged women in mining communities. Under this initiative are Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) programs for girls in the Tarkwa community in Ghana’s Western region as well.
To ensure that more individuals enter her field, Tagoe is also involved with YouthMappers, where she mentors young people on how geospatial technology, including Geographic Information Systems and remote sensing, contributes to sustainable development.
Globally, Tagoe serves as Chair-elect of the International Federation of Surveyors (FIG) Commission 8 – Spatial Planning and Development. FIG comprises 10 technical commissions that focus on various areas of geospatial science and practice. Under Commission 8helping to shape international policy and practice in land governance, spatial planning, and sustainable urban growth, according to the report on myjoyonline.
Indeed, Tagoe’s current role is not only an amazing piece of news to her but also a breakthrough for women in STEM, shattering barriers in a field dominated by men.
Geomatics is the branch of science that deals with the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data relating to the earth’s surface. Geomatics is part of the larger field of STEM, an area where women are significantly underrepresented. Studies show that as of 2023, men outnumbered women in the global engineering workforce by 86.3% to 13.7%.
Tagoe, a distinguished member of the UMaT Class of 2000, is one of the few women making a difference in the field. She is a Schlumberger Faculty for the Future Fellow and a KAAD scholar who earned a Master of Science degree in Photogrammetry and Geoinformatics from the Stuttgart University of Applied Sciences in Germany.
She also received a Bachelor of Science degree in Geodetic Engineering from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and completed her doctoral studies at the University of Cape Town, where she “focused on extracting spatial information of cultural heritage sites from panoramic images.”
Tagoe became a member of the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS), the Ghana Institution of Surveyors (GhIS), Graduate Women International (GWI) and the Ghana Association of University Women (GAUW), with over 12 conference and journal publications.
Per her Linkedin profile, her research interests include “Geospatial Technologies for Promoting and Monitoring Sustainable Development Goals, Earth Observation Applications for Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Terrestrial Laser Scanning and Panoramic Imagery for Infrastructural and Cultural Heritage Documentation.”
