Gokul Gopan

Experience & Education

Work history, academic background and technical skills in GIS, mobility and spatial data science.

Work Experience

GIS Analyst

Plan4Better GmbH · Munich, Germany

September 2024 – Present
  • Conduct spatial analysis and geoprocessing for mobility, accessibility and planning studies, including isochrones, catchments and network-based indicators.
  • Perform spatial analysis using GOAT — accessibility heatmaps, walkability indicators, public transport quality classes and scenario-based planning analyses.
  • Use QGIS for spatial data processing, cartographic map production, digitising, georeferencing and geoprocessing workflows.
  • Prepare, clean and integrate spatial datasets using PostgreSQL/PostGIS, with a focus on data quality, documentation and reproducible workflows.
  • Develop Python-based geoprocessing tools using GeoPandas, Pandas, Shapely and GDAL/OGR for spatial analytics, automation and reporting.
  • Create and maintain technical documentation for the GOAT platform, supporting onboarding, workflow guidance and knowledge sharing.
  • Produce cartographic outputs and written reports for municipal and regional planning stakeholders.

GIS Intern

Plan4Better GmbH · Munich, Germany

January 2024 – September 2024

Formal MSc Internship (Pflichtpraktikum) — RWTH Aachen University
Supervised by Dr.-Ing. Andreas Witte & Prof. Dr.-Ing. Tobias Kuhnimhof

  • Performed accessibility and walkability analyses for cities including Augsburg, Amberg and Düsseldorf using GOAT.
  • Calculated public transport quality classes (ÖV-Güteklassen), Walkability Index and local accessibility heatmaps.
  • Modified SQL scripts to replace circular buffer methods with pedestrian network isochrones, improving measurement precision.
  • Conducted scenario analyses for shared mobility expansion and parking facility optimisation.
  • Presented findings to university supervisors and company stakeholders.
View full internship details →

Sales Associate / Cashier

ALDI Süd · Aachen, Germany

August 2023 – December 2023
  • Supported customer service at checkout and on the sales floor.
  • Assisted with shelf replenishment, stock handling and daily store operations.

Operations Associate / Shift Lead

Flink GmbH · Aachen, Germany

August 2021 – August 2023
  • Supported warehouse operations, inventory control, quality checks and order packing.
  • Coordinated shift activities in a fast-paced operational environment.
  • Assisted with customer support and day-to-day fulfilment workflows.

Selected Project Work

Accessibility, Mobility & Planning
  • Erreichbarkeitsanalyse der Parkmöglichkeiten in der Amberger Innenstadt (Accessibility Analysis of Parking Facilities in Amberg City Centre)
  • Erreichbarkeitsanalysen zum geplanten Radwegprojekt „Höchste Eisenbahn" in Amberg (Accessibility Analyses for the Planned Cycle Route "Höchste Eisenbahn" in Amberg)
  • Erreichbarkeits- und Walkabilityanalysen für das Gebiet rechts der Wertach (Accessibility and Walkability Analyses for the Area Right of the Wertach, Augsburg)
  • Nahmobilitätskonzept für den 23. Stadtbezirk Allach-Untermenzing (Local Mobility Concept for the 23rd City District Allach-Untermenzing, Munich)
  • Fokuskonzept Mobilität Stadt Kandel (Focused Mobility Concept for the City of Kandel)
  • Mobilitätsanalysen für die Stadtteile Hassels und Reisholz in Düsseldorf (Mobility Analyses for the Districts Hassels and Reisholz in Düsseldorf)
  • Sharing-Mobilitätskonzept Harthof (Shared Mobility Concept for Harthof, Munich)
  • Mobilitätsanalyse Scharfreiterplatz München (Mobility Analysis for Scharfreiterplatz, Munich)
  • Mobilitätsanalysen Stadt Sinsheim (Mobility Analyses for the City of Sinsheim)
  • Mobilitätsanalysen Südliche Weinstraße (Mobility Analyses for the Südliche Weinstraße District)
  • Kommunale Wärmeplanung für Stadt Mainburg (Municipal Heat Planning for the City of Mainburg)
  • Integriertes Energetisches Quartierskonzept Ortsgemeinde Altrip (Integrated Energy Quarter Concept for the Municipality of Altrip)
  • Energiekonzept im Rahmen des integrierten städtebaulichen Entwicklungskonzepts Luitpoldhöhe (Energy Concept within the Integrated Urban Development Concept Luitpoldhöhe)
Independent Projects
  • Munich Housing Accessibility Dashboard
  • Berlin GTFS Wheelchair Accessibility
  • Cologne Tram Isochrones
  • Melbourne Walkability
  • Gauteng Burglary Hotspots
  • 30 Day Map Challenge 2023 & 2025
  • Python Spatial Analysis — Bus Stops
  • NRW Railway Station Analysis
  • San Francisco Buffer Analysis

Education

MSc Verkehrsingenieurwesen und Mobilität (Transport Engineering and Mobility)

RWTH Aachen University · ISB — Lehrstuhl und Institut für Stadtbauwesen und Stadtverkehr

November 2020 – July 2026

Vertiefung: Railway Systems Engineering · Supervised by Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. Tobias Kuhnimhof

Master's Thesis (in progress — submission July 2026)

Bewertung der Erreichbarkeit von Einzelhandelsgeschäften mit bestimmten Verkehrsmitteln in ausgewählten deutschen Städten
Evaluation of Mode-Specific Retail Accessibility in Selected German Cities

Computing cumulative-opportunity accessibility to retail categories across 3–5 German cities using r5py (R5 routing engine) for all transport modes (car, bike, foot, public transport). Accessibility is modelled on a 100 m grid, aggregated to the 1 km Zensus 2022 census grid for comparison with socioeconomic indicators (income, unemployment, age, migration background, car ownership). Spatial patterns and inequalities are assessed through bivariate mapping and Spearman correlation. Results visualised in QGIS with maps, tables and figures.

BTech Production Engineering

National Institute of Technology Calicut

March 2015 – April 2019

Technical Skills

GIS & Spatial Analysis

QGIS, cartography, spatial analysis, georeferencing, digitising, joins and geoprocessing; isochrones, catchments and accessibility indicators.

Spatial Databases

PostgreSQL/PostGIS; spatial data preparation, integration, data quality checks and reproducible geospatial data pipelines.

Python & Geoprocessing

GeoPandas, Pandas, Shapely, GDAL/OGR; workflow automation, data preparation and reporting.

Mobility & Accessibility

Walkability and accessibility analysis, network-based mobility indicators, public transport and active mobility analysis.

Reporting & Cartography

Map production for planning studies, technical report writing, municipal and regional stakeholder communication, MS Office.

Languages

English (Proficient) · German (Intermediate) · Malayalam (Native) · Hindi (Good) · Tamil (Good)

Awards & Publications

Best Paper Award · ICSCAN 2019

International Conference on Systems, Computation, Automation and Networking · March 2019

IEEE Xplore Publications · 2019

  • Performance Analysis of Storage Warehouses in a Food Grain Supply Chain using Data Envelopment Analysis
  • Selection of Warehouse Operator by the Combination of Analytic Hierarchy Process and DEA