Z_GIS to further deepen skills for providing critical information services in humanitarian aid support

Today’s World Refugee Day reminds us to reflect on our individual and institutional power to support people in need. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon underlines that “… despite budget constraints everywhere, we must not turn away from those in need. Refugees leave because they have no choice. We must choose to help." Over the last years, the Centre for Geoinformatics has chosen to dedicate their methodological skills to support crisis management and refugee operations. In the frame of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Austrian branch of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Z_GIS researchers have been applying their EO-based tools for population monitoring and water exploration several recent crisis situations, including the Sudan crisis 2011, that led to massive refugee movements to the camps around Dadaab in Kenya. The figure below shows the change dynamics in 2011 in one of the Dadaab camps. Just very recently, the collaboration between Z_GIS and MSF received substantial funding from a private foundation to carry on and intensify their endeavor in creating tailored information services in  situations similar as this.

Washington DC – University of Salzburg has joined the University Consortium of GIS (UCGIS)

Washington DC – University of Salzburg has joined the University Consortium of GIS (UCGIS) to create more opportunities for students, faculty and professionals in the field of Geographic Information Systems and Science. The UCGIS Consortium is committed to build an organizational infrastructure to foster collaborative interdisciplinary research in Geographic Information Science.

Prof. Thomas Blaschke spoke on “A three-tiered ‘education through research’ approach to Geographic Information Science” at the 2012 UCGIS meeting themed “GIScience 2.0”. “The vision driving this kind of consortium is to identify areas of potential collaboration and to share ideas and resources. Particularly in support of educating geospatial technologists and GIScience researchers, having them well-prepared to enter professional practice,” Dr. Blaschke said. “In light of the challenges of an ever increasing amount of geospatial data, it is essential we work with colleagues around the world to provide students with access to educational opportunities relevant for a wide range of careers.”

The University of Salzburg with its flagship research centre Z_GIS – Centre for Geoinformatics – has been admitted to UCGIS as only the fourth non-US institution among 60 leading organisations. Speaking of University of Salzburg’s membership, the director of Z_GIS, Prof. Josef Strobl said when being interviewed in Dublin on the same day: “The ethos of UCGIS closely resonates with what we at Z_GIS are working hard to achieve through our strong research agenda and three-tiered education, the work with we pursue nationally and internationally, and our capacity building initiatives. As one of the founding members of the European AGILE consortium we are delighted to be the second European member of this mainly US-based UCGIS group, and look forward to our active participation in this dynamic consortium.”