The National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) participated in a specialised training workshop over three days, from September 25th to 27th, 2024, to strengthen the technological expertise of its GIS and information technology staff from both the corporation’s headquarters in Nakasero and the Kampala Water region.
The training, which took place at NWSC’s International Resource Centre (IREC), focused on “Deploying and Maintaining Multi-User Geodatabases,” a technical subject designed to equip participants with the skills necessary to create, manage, and deploy spatially-enabled databases. Notably, these databases are essential for streamlining operations, enhancing efficiency, and improving service delivery. Therefore, the training aimed to ensure that the corporation’s systems can handle the increasing complexity and volume of spatial data required for its day-to-day operations.
Led by a team from ESRI Eastern Africa, a Nairobi-based firm specialising in geographic information systems (GIS) technology, the training guided the participants through interactive sessions that were both practical and technical. It was not only a technical deep dive but also a crucial step toward ensuring that NWSC’s IT infrastructure can support the growing demand for spatial data analysis, and this upgrade comes at a time when precision in data management is increasingly required to meet the corporation’s ambitious targets for water and sewerage services across Uganda.
This partnership is part of a broader collaboration between NWSC and the Dutch-funded WaterWorX project, which has supported the corporation in upgrading its Enterprise GIS software system. The recent workshop is therefore just one in a series of ongoing trainings organised to facilitate NWSC’s smooth transition to the upgraded GIS platform. Earlier modules covered effective migration strategies to the new system, as well as techniques for authoring, publishing, and sharing GIS map services within the enterprise framework. The goal is to fully equip the staff with all the necessary tools to maximise the new system’s functionality.
As NWSC continues to modernise its operations, the enhanced geodatabase management capabilities will play a significant role in optimising decision-making and improving resource allocation. With this new training under their belts, staff are better positioned to leverage technology in achieving NWSC’s broader goal of providing reliable water and sewerage services to its customers.
