Sam Harrison-Curran: Geospatial Engagement Lead

What is your role and what does it involve? 

The Geospatial Engagement Lead role is completely new to UCL and the Social Data Institute. The remit of the role is to work with colleagues across UCL to seek out projects that could benefit from a geospatial touch and to facilitate researchers to use spatial science in their own research domains.  

Because it’s so new this means I am being encouraged to shape many aspects of the role as I see fit, which is really awesome. A big driver for me is increasing utilisation of web GIS resources to broaden access to geospatial capabilities and disseminate outcomes in innovative ways. 

The most key of my responsibilities is to communicate geospatial in an accessible way, whether this means explaining the very basic underpinning concepts or providing that extra bit of guidance to help people get the most from skills they already have.  

For those who wonder what geospatial even means, there is an excellent primer here from a previous employer of mine: What is Geospatial data?  

  How long have you been at UCL and what was your previous role? 

I am brand, shiny new to UCL, having started in the very last days of August. I’ve been in industry for over a decade and it’s a real delight to be back in an academic setting – when I first read the role description, I was excited beyond measure that the role even existed and applying was a no-brainer as I’ve been yearning for research since I left. Not even the commute from Northumberland could put me off! 

And in the spirit of Geospatial Engagement, I decided that the only way to introduce myself and my experience was visually and spatially: Sam’s Narrative CV 

  What working achievement or initiative are you most proud of? 

My proudest professional achievement thus far is starting in my very first management role, not long out of maternity leave as well, and immediately being able to make a real impact on the geospatial ways of working. From there being no prior set geospatial structure, my role pulled together a more cohesive team, and within the first 6 months, we’d migrated all day-to-day GIS work to a newer software and trained all the users, with minimal impact on delivery.  

I’m now aiming to be able to reflect on my current role in years to come and feel proud of the impact I managed to have on geospatial at UCL.  

 Tell us about a project you are working on now which is top of your to-do list? 

I’ve several exciting irons in the fire at the moment but top of the list is collaborating with members of UCL’s Admissions team to build a framework of geospatial analysis and visualisation to assist in strategic planning.  

We are aiming to use both internal intake data and external geodemographic data to build pictures of student distribution and really drill down into the factors that play a role in young people’s progression into Higher Education. A key aspect of this is also the use of web GIS to build interactive resources. 

The greatest potential impact for this work is expected to be in the context of UCL’s Access and Participation Plan for 2025/26 – 2028/29 but there is enormous value to be found in leveraging geospatial across the admissions arena at large.   

 How might colleagues collaborate with you or support your work? 

My role is alllll about the collaboration and I am actively seeking it! I’m hoping to soon pull together resources around geospatial engagement into a central hub but in the meantime, if you’d like to know more or if you’re wondering how a research project could benefit from geospatial elements, please get in touch with me.