Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Professor Henk Scholten (UNIGIS Amsterdam) honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by Geospatial Media and Communications

Prof Henk Scholten, CEO, Geodan, Director, SPINlab, Vrije Universiteit, has been honored with Lifetime Achievement Award by Geospatial Media and Communications for the year 2015. The award shall be presented during Geospatial World Forum on May 25, 2016 at World Trade Centre, Rotterdam. The jury, comprising of renowned professionals representing industry, academia, government and multilateral organizations, met in December ‘15 to select this year’s Geospatial World Leadership Awardees.

While recognizing Scholten’s contribution as a teacher, entrepreneur and advocate of geospatial technologies ranging over 4 decades, the jury feels privileged to have chosen him for Lifetime Achievement Award. Scholten has been passionate about providing new perspective to geography through combining mathematics and geography opened a new era of modeling, predicting enhancing overall understanding of the world we live in. Having very unique social characteristics and instincts, he has immensely contributed in overall development of GIS/geospatial community worldwide.

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Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Online U_Lecture May 31st by Dr Elias Symeonakis

Tuesday 31 May 2016, 6-7 PM (CET)
Dr Elias Symeonakis, Senior Lecturer - Manchester Metropolitan University & UNIGIS UK

Assessing Land Degradation and Desertification using Vegetation Index Data: Current Frameworks and Future Directions 

Land degradation and desertification has been ranked as a major environmental and social issue for the coming decades. Thus, the observation and early detection of degradation is a primary objective for a number of scientific and policy organisations, with remote sensing methods being a candidate choice for the development of monitoring systems.

This webinar reviews the statistical and ecological frameworks of assessing land degradation and desertification using vegetation index data. The development of multi-temporal analysis as a desertification assessment technique is reviewed, with a focus on how current practice has been shaped by controversy and dispute within the literature. The statistical techniques commonly employed are examined from both a statistical as well as ecological point of view, and recommendations are made for future research directions. The scientific requirements for degradation and desertification monitoring systems identified here are: (I) the validation of methodologies in a robust and comparable manner; and (II) the detection of degradation at minor intensities and magnitudes. It is also established that the multi-temporal analysis of vegetation index data can provide a sophisticated measure of ecosystem health and variation, and that, over the last 30 years, considerable progress has been made in the respective research.

Geospatial Competency Lifecycle

Published article in Geospatial World Magazine May 2016
By Professor Josef Strobl

The definition of geospatial career pathways, offering professional growth opportunities following a geospatial paradigm with associated competencies, will enhance the appeal of starting positions and draw smart young people into our field.

The‚ ‘brainware’ behind managing and operating spatial data infrastructures, generating information from geospatial sensors and data, and effective geovisual communications increasingly is considered the main critical success factor for leveraging geospatial technologies across its application domains. Education and training on various levels are supposed to develop these competences. Even though educational programs proliferate, student numbers often stay below expectations and industry is struggling to hire qualified staff. After decades as an established discipline, (too) many geospatial positions in public administration and businesses are still being filled by people “trained on the job”.

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