‘We Should Redesign Geography Education to Take Account of Big Data and AI’
The classical model of geographical education that emerged in the 20th century, primarily to study, assess, and develop territories and natural resources, is no longer suited to the complexity of modern spatial systems. Geographers need to learn how to work with big data and GeoAI, model nonlinear changes, and make decisions under conditions of uncertainty, while also bringing together knowledge of natural and socio-economic processes. Nikolay Kurichev, Dean of the HSE Faculty of Geography and Geoinformation Technology, said this on August 18 at the international scientific session ‘BRICS Geographers Day.’
The BRICS Geographers Day session was held at the Atom museum (VDNkH, Moscow) and was one of the events marking BRICS Geographers Day. Experts from Russia, China, Indonesia, Brazil, and other countries discussed current challenges and solutions for attracting young people to geographical science, as well as the use of digital technologies and artificial intelligence to preserve cultural, historical, and natural heritage. The event was organised by the Russian Geographical Society with the support of the Atom Foundation and assistance from the Russian Ministry of Science and Higher Education.
Nikolay Kurichev
‘Modern conditions require substantial adjustments to classical models. Fundamentally new computing capabilities call for the integration of advanced data-processing tools into all areas of education and research. Territorial systems—landscapes, cities, and settlement networks—are becoming more complex, while their development is accelerating. This requires specialists to have interdisciplinary skills and new methodological approaches. At the same time, the attainment of planetary boundaries makes it necessary to strengthen the links between physical and human geography. A 21st-century geographer needs to be able to turn spatial knowledge into responsible action,’ Nikolay Kurichev said.
According to him, the problem with geographical education today lies not so much in the absence of individual disciplines as in the lack of connections between them. The world has changed faster than educational models: the shortage of data has given way to vast amounts of spatial information and GeoAI tools; stable patterns of territorial development have been replaced by nonlinear and interconnected changes; and individual environmental and social problems are increasingly emerging as interconnected crises. Geographical education should therefore shift its focus from primarily explaining what is happening towards training specialists capable of participating in decision-making and assessing its consequences.
Nikolay Kurichev proposed treating complex spatial systems, in which nature, society, and technology interact, as the new core of geographical education.
‘The role of the geographer itself is also changing. A specialist should not only describe and diagnose a territory, but also understand how it functions, assess the potential consequences of interventions, and participate in designing spatial change. This approach can be applied, in particular, to spatial and landscape planning, climate risk management, the development of infrastructure and settlement systems, ecosystem restoration, and the development of regional strategies,’ said the Dean of the HSE Faculty of Geography and Geoinformation Technology.
The proposed educational model should be based on three interconnected elements: a fundamental geographical core, cross-cutting computational methods, and problem-oriented project studios.
‘The curriculum is a system, not a catalogue of courses. Computational methods—geographic information systems, remote sensing, spatial statistics, modelling, and GeoAI—should become not separate disciplines, but a cross-cutting toolkit for training geographers,’ Nikolay Kurichev noted.
The speaker also devoted particular attention in his presentation to opportunities for cooperation among the BRICS countries. In his view, the diversity of natural conditions, settlement patterns, demographic trajectories, infrastructure, institutions, and technological development across the member countries can serve as an educational resource. Instead of creating a single curriculum, Nikolay Kurichev proposed building a common educational space through comparative project studios, international field schools, shared datasets, and distributed student teams. This approach would make it possible to test theories in different contexts, develop comparative thinking, and create solutions that take into account the specific characteristics of individual territories.
Nikolay Kurichev identified responsibility as another key principle in training the next generation of geographers. According to him, the growing capabilities of technology and computational tools should be accompanied by the development of professional judgement. Specialists need to understand the degree of uncertainty in data, take account of the characteristics of a particular place and scale, assess who will benefit from proposed solutions and who may face their risks, and consider the long-term and systemic consequences of change.
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