The Walloon Region in Belgium played a leading role in the world economy and in the industrial sciences and engineering since the 19th century. Several relicts, such as important industrial buildings or sites, are spread over a large area and are still dominating the current landscape. Some of these remnants are preserved as monuments, representing the industrial, cultural and ecological transition of the region during the last two centuries. Since 2012, UNESCO recognized the importance of four of the best preserved 19th and 20th century coal mining sites and classified them as World Heritage ("Major Mining Sites of Wallonia", Le Grand-Hornu, Bois-du-Luc, Le Bois du Cazier and Blegny Mine). The four recognised mining sites together form a strip of about 170 km long, containing important examples of the so-called 'neo classical architecture' from the early periods of the industrial era in continental Europe. Motivated by this recognition and by the huge touristic and educational potential of the sites, a partnership between the Walloon government and Ghent University was organized. In this first stage, the collaboration focuses on the site of Bois-du-Luc in the municipality of La Louviere, containing a large series of dwellings, several equipments built between 1853 and 1923 by the Societe des Charbonnages du Bois-du-Luc, workshops and heaps. Consisting of numerous buildings dating back to the period between 1838 and 1923, this site is one of Europe's oldest collieries. The collaboration between the Walloon government and Ghent University - Department of Geography fits in the hands-on training which students in land surveying and geomatics receive during their Bachelor studies. For the students it is very interesting that their practical exercises are not limited to the university campus, but that they are involved in a real measurement campaign. The project consists of a series of intensive land surveying campaigns, resulting in highly detailed and accurate maps of the site, including the inside domain of the ...