When administrators from China's State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping assembled at the University of New South Wales last week for their annual surveying and mapping seminar, it was the first time in 50 years the important workshop had been held outside of its regular home in The Netherlands.

China's State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping (SBSM) is the body responsible for surveying and mapping work across all of China and in a major coup, UNSW has signed a five year agreement with the Bureau to conduct annual training courses for SBSM administrators.

Associate Professor Linlin Ge, who coordinated the workshop, said the fact that such a high-level workshop had been hosted by UNSW was indicative of the university's strong international reputation in surveying and spatial information.

"This is a very, very important development for UNSW - we have world leaders in the field of spatial information here," Associate Professor Ge said. Click here for more on this story