Successful conclusion of GISCA 2011 in Almaty!

The Kazakh National University named after Al-Farabi on May 20 successfully concluded their first 'GIS in Central Asia' conference. The conference organizing team led by Gulnara Nyussupova and Nurzhan Kerimbay from the Faculty of Geography under Dean Vitali Salnikov had the opportunity to welcome close to 100 participants, many of them from international universities in Europe, Middle East and USA.

Following three days of intensive parallel workshops and overlapping with a Geoinformatics training for Tempus and UNIGIS teachers, the conference was started on May 19th with welcome addresses from dignitaries and organizers. The excellent conference facilities on the top floor of KazNU's main building provided a stimulating venue for research presentations and lively discussions throughout a conference program arranged by Akylbek Chymyrov from the Austria-Central Asia Centre for GIScience in Bishkek.

The conference offered more than 20 high level paper presentations on current topics of GIS and remote sensing applications, development of methods, and educational perspectives. Supported by social events and a field trip on the day after the conference, GISCA again made a significant contribution to building a network of Geographic Information Science researchers, educators and professionals across Central Asia!