Z_GIS celebrating 30th anniversary

The Interfaculty Department of Geoinformatics - Z_GIS based at the University of Salzburg celebrated its 30th anniversary with two dedicated events, a GIScience Symposium and a Ceremonial Act on October 25, 2018. More than 200 participants enjoyed these special occasions supported by the Austrian Academy of Sciences, the University of Salzburg and Land Salzburg.

The GIScience Symposium started with an inspirational keynote by Michael F. Goodchild, entitled 'GISCIENCE AND GEOGRAPHY: AN EVOLVING RELATIONSHIP'. This was followed by a veritable firework display of 'geospatial' flashlight presentations on Recent and Future Trends, from GeoAnalytics, Infrastructures, Maps, Education, Mobility, Terrain, Image Classification to Organisations & People by J. Wilson, K. Greve, G. Gartner, A. Car, St. Kollarits, G.Tang, M. Belgiu, and J. Petch.

The Ceremonial Act at the Salzburg Residenz highlighted Z_GIS' and Prof. Josef Strobl's  achievements, the latter honoured by Prof. Thomas Blaschke in a laudatio, followed by personal video messages from national and international partners and institutions. Prof Strobl was awarded the distinction 'Ehrenzeichen des Landes' in the course of this celebration.

'This day was an opportunity to reflect on and also enjoy the successes achieved through numerous outcomes from projects, from developing institutional and personal networks, and professional cooperation as well as communication. I hope that the recognition of Z_GIS‘ institutional standing expressed by PLUS and Salzburg leadership also serves as a motivation to continue with our ambitions and plans, and to keep building upon our achievements' , stated Sepp Strobl.

Photos by Hans-Christian Gruber
University of Salzburg, Interfaculty Department of Geoinformatics - Z_GIS @ www.zgis.at