UNIGIS Annual Partner Conference

This year, UNIGIS partner universities are convening at ISEGI in Lisbon, Portugal for their annual network coordination conference. Topics like curriculum and learning media development are on the agenda just like joint summer schools, credit transfer and enhancements for the worldwide community of UNIGIS alumni.

With the UNIGIS network approaching its third decade of providing distance learning to GIS/GIScience professionals around the world, its reach now has expanded to all continents and student numbers continue to grow at an impressive pace - testimony to the high quality of education recognized across the GIS industry and all application domains.

UNIGIS chair Prof. Josef Strobl emphasizes: "Our network is now established as THE global virtual university for GIScience, and we are proud of making valuable contributions to the evolving GIS industry and to establishing Spatial Data Infrastructures worldwide!"

UNIGIS Orientation / Promotion workshop in India

“The appreciation and recognition of the UNIGIS network of GIScience education is increasing among students from various disciplines in India“ says Dr. Shahnawaz (Director S&SE Asia, UNIGIS International). This conclusion is based on the educational backgrounds of 26 students and 3 teachers / professionals participating in the UNIGIS orientation workshop organised at the UNIGIS AIILSG study centre, Cochin, Kerala (www.unigis.net/aiilsg_india) on 4th September, 2010. Most of the the participants in this one-day workshop are pursuing postgraduate studies in oceanography, environmental science and geography at various colleges in Kerala.

After open-floor discussions with the participants, Mr. V. Govindankutty (Coordinator, UNIGIS@AIILSG_India) concluded that many students aspire to obtain GI-qualifications but there are hardly any opportunities for quality GIScience education in Kerela. He expressed the urge to organise UNIGIS workshops in various part of Kerala.

UNIGIS Faculty Workshop - Indonesia

Within the context of working with potential new partners within the UNIGIS network in Southeast Asia, UNIGIS regional director Dr. Shahnawaz organised a 3 days faculty development workshop at the Bina Nusantara University (www.binus.ac.id), Jakarta, Indonesia from August 4-6, 2010.

29 faculty participated in the workshop, all with a computer science background. The workshop was themed "Spatial Management with GIScience" and focussed on developing spatial perspectives among computer science specialists. Besides delivering conceptual lectures, practical exercises were completed using professional GIS software. Following this workshop, options for continued UNIGIS collaboration were discussed during a half day meeting with BINUS administration on August 7.

Expanded UNIGIS presence across Asia

At this year's MapAsia conference in Kuala Lumpur, UNIGIS regional director Dr Shahnawaz had the opportunity to present postgraduate distance education as an innovative option for professional and personal development to delegates from a range of disciplines and backgrounds. Interest in pursuing continuing education in GIScience and GIS was intense, demonstrating accelerated growth across the GIS industry!

Ms. Norizah Kamarudin, Junior Faculty and PhD candidate at the Department of Forestry, University Putra Malaysia was welcoming visitors at the UNIGIS exhibition booth.

On the closing day of MapAsia, Prof Josef Strobl keynoted and chaired the Capacity Building Forum, a key platform for GIS educators from institutions in S/E Asia.

UNIGIS at ESRI International User Conference in San Diego

UNIGIS actively participated in the ESRI International User Conference, July 12-16 2010.
Monday night UNIGIS was present at the 'Academic GIS Program Fair', and from Tuesday to Thursday was available for attendees at a large booth in the main exhibit hall, providing information on all UNIGIS Distance Learning offerings worldwide. A lot of people stopped by to find out about UNIGIS: current UNIGIS students and alumni, prospective UNIGIS students, university faculty/staff as well as prospective UNIGIS member institutions.
Representatives from UNIGIS USC, Latin America, Salzburg and Poland staffed the booth, presented UNIGIS programs and actively promoted UNIGIS studies worldwide.