Academic Recognition for Universidad de Belgrano

The Buenos Aires - based Universidad de Belgrano (UB) has entered an agreement to work towards joining UNIGIS en América Latina as a regional study center. As a first step, a locally implemented 'diplomatura' in GIS will be recognized as equivalent with introductory UNIGIS modules, paving a pathway for students to continue towards UNIGIS professional certificate and UNIGIS MSc programs at the University of Salzburg.

Mónica Inés Fernández (Dean, UB Faculty of Architecture and Urban Studies) together with Bárbara Constantinidis and Martín Orduña led the coordination talks with Richard Resl (UNIGIS en América Latina) and Josef Strobl (Z_GIS, University of Salzburg) on July 25-26 in Buenos Aires. The resulting agreement is considered a first step towards UB joining UNIGIS as a study center in 2015.

As a first joint public promotion of GIS and Geoinformatics, the partners have announced a ForoMundoUNIGIS event at UB for October 1. This conference is designed to serve as a focal point for the local GIS community, and will offer information about qualification opportunities to potential students.

First Graduate with Salzburg-Quito Dual Degree

On June 18th, Diego Xavier Morales Jadán, the first Latin American graduate of the UNIGIS Dual Degree program established between Z_GIS, University of Salzburg and USFQ Quito, Ecuador, had the chance to participate in the official graduation ceremony taking place at the Great Hall (Aula) of Salzburg University.

The degree award document was presented by Salzburg Rector Prof. Heinrich Schmidinger. Diego has earned this degree with fulfilling all course requirements and completing his Master Thesis on "Development of a spatial load forecasting module for optimizing planning of electricity supply" in Ecuador.

On behalf of the UNIGIS team in Ecuador and Salzburg, we express our compliments to Diego and wish him all the best for his professional career!

Rio de Janeiro University Exploring UNIGIS Cooperation

Richard Resl from UNIGIS en América Latina and Josef Strobl from the UNIGIS International Association (UIA) on July 21 were visiting 'LabGIS' and the international department of the Rio de Janeiro State University (UERJ) to introduce the UNIGIS network mission and practice, and to discuss next steps towards UERJ joining UNIGIS as a new study center for Brazil.

LabGIS at the Department of Geology has established a reputation of excellence for applied research as well as for high quality education in basic and advanced GIS methods and technologies, supporting a range of partners and students from a variety of disciplines and institutions. In particular LabGIS with its leaders Rui dos Santos and José Augusto Sapienza Ramos is reaching out to professional practitioners through numerous short courses and trainings, therefore expanding its capacity building offerings towards full academic programs is only a logical next step.

As a study center for Brazil cooperating within the 'UNIGIS en América Latina' framework and under a recently signed Memorandum of Understanding with Z_GIS at the University of Salzburg for international qualifications, UNIGIS at UERJ will initially focus on the UNIGIS professional certificate program. In addition, community development and outreach will commence in November 2014 within the Foro Mundo UNIGIS initiative as a common denominator among geospatial scientists, practitioners and technologists within its region.

We wish LabGIS at the Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro lots of success in the process of joining the UNIGIS network!

UNIGIS Salzburg receiving ESRI Special Achievement Award

UNIGIS professional program director
Christoph Traun presenting the
award insignia

The University of Salzburg Department of Geoinformatics - Z_GIS today received special recognition for its successful UNIGIS education program. At the International ESRI User Conference the 'Special Achievement in GIS' Award was presented by Jack Dangermond to our education team, acknowledging its contribution to capacity building worldwide, innovation in geospatial education and services leading to professional qualifications.

The 'Special Achievement in GIS' (SAG) Award every year goes to a distinguished few institutions, and we at Z_GIS are proud to be highlighted this year among academic Geoinformatics researchers and educators worldwide.

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