Z_GIS 'Yearbook' published

At the beginning of each year, the researchers at Z_GIS are looking back at their achievements throughout the previous year. The publication of our 'Annual Report' marks a milestone where we take stock and use this as a baseline for planning next steps.

This past year’s big news has been Z_GIS itself: the University of Salzburg had decided to promote our centre to a full academic department, and to integrate the Austrian Academy of Science’s GIScience department into a team of researchers now certainly having reached “critical mass” to lead in the discipline of Geoinformatics. As a department, Z_GIS now will take a more prominent role in academic education: currently ongoing curriculum reform will retain a significant presence of geospatial methodology modules in the Geography bachelor, and focus on further strengthening the “Applied Geoinformatics” MSc, which due to English language of instruction has evolved into a popular, very international programme. On a doctoral level we now have reached record numbers of excellent students aiming at academic career paths worldwide. Our UNIGIS distance learning MSc and certificate continue as a unique and highly regarded continuing education framework with a “lifelong learning” focus. Many of these, and lots of other achievements are best visible at our annual GI_Forum and AGIT conferences, and for a younger audience at GIS Day.

The new year of 2013 already promises to hold in stock even more changes and challenging developments, and everybody at Z_GIS is keen to stay on top of their game - contributing to leading the field of Geoinformatics and GIScience in its many facets, as a stimulating and innovation-rich interdisciplinary domain. Want to read our 'yearbook' in detail? Go to tinyurl.com/zgis2012 ... or just drop us a note for a hardcopy version.