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!
