Looking forward to GIS Day '15 with SDI

Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDI) now are serving as the foundation for most geospatial documentation, analyses and communication. To demonstrate the enormous wealth and width of spatial information today available through SDI services, ACA*GIScience has compiled and published a demonstrator application highlighting Central Asia, now available via
     > http://arcg.is/1Yaxfhe
This year, we look forward to celebrating GIS Day with a special emphasis on SDI, motivating all geospatial specialists to leverage its potential and to learn how to work with services-based architectures for geospatial application domains!

Congratulations to GEM 2015 MSc Graduates!

The class of 2013-2015 Geoinformatics MSc candidates Adilet Bekturov, Kydyr Nazarkulov, Gulkair Tilek kyzy and Nurbek Dzhumaliev had their final thesis defence on October 21, 2015 at ACA*GIScience KSUCTA.


They presented their research results on their selected thesis topics Urban Planning, Avalanche Cadastre, Forest Management and Demography studies. The State Attesstation Committee has highlighted the importance of Geoinformation technology in Kyrgyzstan as well the high quality of Master theses.

Congratulations to all candidates to successfully presenting and defending their research and thus completing the Master studies with excellent results!

Geoinformatics MSc Program of KSUCTA has been developed and implemented within Tempus "GEM" project in 2011.  

We wish good health and every success to our new GI Masters in their professional and personal lifes!!!

International Seminar on GI Technology in Central Asia is held in Urumqi

The "International Seminar on Geoinformation Technology in Central Asia" was held in September 28-30, 2015 in Urumqi, China. This international event was organized by the Society of Surveying and Mapping of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and the Engineering Research Center of Central Asia Geoinformation Development and Utilization of the National Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geoinformation.

Main topics of the seminar were:

1. BeiDou satellite navigation and positioning technologies and applications
2. Technologies and applications on Earth observation satellites
3. Technologies on emergency surveying and mapping geoinformation security
4. Smart City and Big Data
5. Successful experiences in carrying out geomatics projects in Central Asia
6. Discussion on foreign geomatics policy and staff/faculty training in Central Asian countries
7. Technology transfer route of Chinese surveying and mapping technologies to Central Asia.

Researchers and professionals from China, Central Asia and other countries have shared successful experiences on different applications of geoinformation, and discussed emerging technologies on surveying, mapping and environmental studies supported by GIS.
 

gSmart Final Call now open!

gSmart - Erasmus Mundus mobility scholarships CA to EU

>> Link to Application Forms 

• ALL candidates must submit a formal application until October 31, 2015! 

This final Call is aiming at numerous potential applicants at all levels: Bachelor, Master, PhD, PostDoc, Staff.
This will be the last chance for students/faculty/staff to apply for a gSmart scholarship!

• Check out the information about Reserve list: http://em-gsmart.zgis.net/how-to-apply/calls/reserve-listed

gSmart: Final Call for Scholarships: September 14 - October 31, 2015

If you are interested in studying or carry out research in Europe then do not miss out on this opportunity to apply for a scholarship!

Bachelor, 1 semester (exclusively Uzbekistan)

Master, 2 semesters, starting autumn 2016 (Students who have finished their first degree (diploma) or those who are in the final years of studies - 4th year of studies; Students, researchers doing a Master’s degree and seeking research experience abroad.)

PhD, 10-12 months (proof of admission and registration for PhD program at home or host university)

PostDoc, 10 months (proof of PhD or equivalent degree)

Please be aware, there  is a small chance to get a scholarship as reserve listed applicant! Applicants who had been put to the reserve list can be promoted to the corresponding main list should any candidate of the main list drop out (following the rules and procedure of the EACEA). Candidates to be promoted will be directly contacted by the gSmart Project office.

• Start of a scholarship not earlier than February, March 2016
• Last date to finish scholarship: July 14, 2017.  
• Special Notification: Availability of scholarships Europe to Central Asia, Postdoc and Staff levels!

You have the possibility to explore what scholars are doing in Europe on their e-portfolios: http://em-gsmart.zgis.net/eportfolio

As interested applicant it will be important to take the opportunity to get familiar with the gSmart application criteria and procedures.
More Information: http://em-gsmart.zgis.net/how-to-apply/calls 

gSmart Scholars @ GI_Forum 2015

gSmart scholars who are currenlty studying at the University of West Hungary, Carinthia University of Applied Sciences and the University of Salzburg met at the GI_Forum 2015. This annual conference is a great opportunity to share experiences with colleagues from all over the world. 'Geospatial Minds for Society' is the 2015 motto of the GI_Forum. >> more photos | GI_Forum

gSmart Joint Coordinators meeting in Salzburg

gSmart Joint-Coordinator Associate Professor Aliya Aktymbayeva from Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Faculty of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Department of Recreation Geography and Tourism visited the University of Salzburg during the GI_Forum 2015.

The gSmart Joint Coordinators worked on drafting the third progress report to the Erasmus Mundus project in Brussels. and discussed the Final Call for Scholarships of the gSmart project which will be open from September 14 - October 31, 2015.

Presenting "gSmart" at the GI_Forum 2015

Regina Hatheier-Stampfl designed a poster illustrating the mobility scholarship project 'gSmart' with the working title: "Enhancing Central Asian Geoinformatic qualifications based on mobility and study periods at European Universities. ‘gSmart - Spatial ICT Infrastructures for Smart Places’ an Erasmus Mundus Action 2, Strand 1 project."
>> Poster Blog of the conference
>> gSmart Poster

www.gi-forum.org, GI_Forum Salzburg, July 7-10, 2015

http://em-gsmart.zgis.net, gSmart project

Working Visit of Prof. Béla Márkus @ Z_GIS

During his working visit at the Department of Geoinformatics at the University of Salzburg, Prof. Béla Márkus from the University of West Hungary received for his outstanding collaboration and his continued support in the Tempus GE-UZ and gSmart projects the book "Untouched Nature".

Prof. Josef Strobl expressed his sincere thanks for the longstanding, good and close co-operation. Prof. Márkus is the Coordinator of the Tempus GE-UZ project and Selection Committee Chair of the Erasmus Mundus scholarship project gSmart.

UNIGIS Стипендии для России и СНГ! Scholarships for UNIGIS MSc candidates

Институт Геоинформатики (Z_GIS) Университета Зальцбурга предлагает 10 неполных стипендий для дистантного онлайн обучения по программе UNIGIS для кандидатов из России и стран СНГ. UNIGIS программа в Зальцбурге приглашает вас подать заявку на стипендию, покрывающую около 60% от общей суммы оплаты за обучение (полная оплата за обучение 9800 Евро).

Следуя видению «Обучение ГИС профессионалов во всем мире», Магистерская программа UNIGIS высоко оценивается и широко признается как квалификационная программа на английском языке на базе высшего образования. Кандидатам из России и стран СНГ предлагается возможность консультации, руководство и поддержка на русском языке.

Заявки на стипендию будут оцениваться на основе имеющегося у кандидата образования, его детального мотивационного письма, даты поступления заявки и регионального разнообразия. Кандидаты должны отвечать всем требованиям по приему в Университет Зальцбурга. Последний срок подачи документов 10 сентя́брь 2015 года. Начало обучения - октябрь 2015 года.

Брошюра: http://www.flipsnack.com/7E67F697C6F/fh3l6fsi.html
Информационное видео: https://youtu.be/khGed9vEGls
Дополнительная информация: http://salzburg.unigis.net | http://slidesha.re/hqFBtJ
Контакты: office.unigis.ru@zgis.net

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The University of Salzburg with its Interfaculty Department of Geoinformatics - Z_GIS is offering up to 10 partial scholarships for UNIGIS distance learning MSc students for students from Central Asia (and Russia). UNIGIS Salzburg is inviting applications for scholarships covering approx. 60% of the Euro 9800.- tuition fee.

Following the vision of 'Educating GIS Professionals Worldwide', the UNIGIS MSc degree is a highly regarded and widely acknowledged postgraduate qualification offered in English language. Candidates from the Russia / CIS region are offered the opportunity of Russian language consultation, guidance and support.

Applications for scholarships will be ranked based upon prior knowledge, a detailed letter of motivation, date of application and regional diversity. Applicants have to fulfill University of Salzburg admission requirements. Deadline for applications is September 10, the course will start in October 2015.

Brochure: http://www.flipsnack.com/7E67F697C6F/fh3l6fsi.html
Info video: https://youtu.be/khGed9vEGls
Details: http://salzburg.unigis.net and http://slidesha.re/hqFBtJ
Contact: office.unigis.ru@zgis.net 

GISCA 2015: May 14-16, 2015 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan

The GIS in Central Asia Conference – GISCA 2015 ”Geospatial Management of Land, Water and Resources" was held in May 14-16, 2015 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The main objectives of this English language conference were to bring together GIS academics, researchers and practitioners from the Central Asian and other countries and to encourage international cooperation and knowledge exchange in GIS education and science. GISCA 2015 was locally organized by the Tashkent Institute of Irrigation and Melioration (TIIM) within the EU Tempus GE-UZ project, jointly with the Austria-Central Asia Centre for GIScience (ACA*GIScience) and the Interfaculty Department of Geoinformatics (Z_GIS), University of Salzburg, Austria. The conference is supported by Trimble, ESRI and media partners from the Geoinformatics industry. 

More than 150 participants from Austria, China, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Romania, Spain, Sweden, UAE, UK, USA and Central Asian countries have enjoyed scientific research presentations and discussions, exchanged experiences and findings of international initiatives on GIS education and research. The cultural program  of the conference offered excursions to the ancient cities Samarkand and Bukhara, to the Aral Sea region and other historical and natural sites. Pre-conference workshops organized within the EU Tempus GE-UZ project were presented at GISCA 2015 by students of the Uzbekistan universities and trainers from EU institutions.

The 10^th anniversary of the GISCA conferencedseries was celebrated and the valuable contribution of “GIS in Central Asia” conferences in educational and research cooperation in the region has been mentioned by the conference participants. Dr. Michael Gould, ESRI Global Education Manager has highlighted the importance of Geoinformatics in the social-economic development of countries in his keynote “GIS education to create the next generation of decision-makers”. Participants have expresses thanks to the local conference organizing team of the Tashkent Institute of Irrigation and Melioration for their hospitality and excellent facilities for this really international event.

The conference proceedings will be available on the official website (http://gisca15.aca-giscience.org) soon and selected papers of the conference will be published in the special issue of the International Journal of Geoinformatics (http://journals.sfu.ca/ijg).

 

gSmart project meeting in Tashkent

The third and final 'face-to-face' project meeting of the EM scholarship mobility project 'gSmart' took place at the National University of Uzbekistan named after Mirzo Ulugbek (NUU) on May 13, 2015.
The meeting had been dedicated to lessons learned in year 2 and quality assurance of mobility. Partners have stressed out their strong interest in ‘after’ project activities. Ms. Aziza Abdurakhmanova, Coordinator National Erasmus+ Office (NEO) in Uzbekistan gave an excellent insight into Uzbek project participation within the EU Tempus programme and provided very helpful information on possible project submissions within the new EU Erasmus+ programmes.

We are very grateful for the excellent meeting organization by Professor Eshkabul Safarov, Head of Department/Faculty of Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre of NUU. 

The final call for scholarship applications will start in September 2015, please get more information on the website: http://em-gsmart.zgis.net

“Avalanche mitigation methods and technologies” International Workshop in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

The International Project “Natural Hazard Risk Management for transport infrastructure in Kyrgyzstan: Focus protection forest” has being implemented in 2014-2015 funded by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management. The main objective of this project was to contribute to a sustainable natural hazard management along transportation corridors in Kyrgyzstan. 

The Austria-Central Asia Centre for Geographic Information Science (ACA*GIScience) at the Kyrgyz State University of Construction, Transport and Architecture (KSUCTA) and the Kyrgyz National Agrarian University (KNAU) have contributed to the realization of this project coordinated by Dr. Antonia Zeidler from the Institute for Natural Hazards,  Federal Research and Training Centre for Forests, Natural Hazards and Landscape (BFW). The project is supported by the MInistry of Emergency Situations of the Kyrgyz Republic and other Kyrgyz and Austrian research instituions, NGO and companies have assisted project activities. 

The avalanche hazard potential along the Bishkek-Osh road was identified and an avalanche geodatabase was designed and developed using topographic and avalanche maps, infrastructural, geological and geographical layers and statistical datasets.  The estimation of the current protection effect of forests in the potential avalanche release areas, track and run-out zones are investigated. Field work has helped with assessing the potential for improved maintenance of the forest and identifying areas with the capacity for sustainable reforestation. 

The International Workshop “Avalanche mitigation methods and technologies” will be held on 2 June, 2015 at KNAU to present the project findings as well as current avalanche mitigation methods and technologies. Representatives of International Organizations and Kyrgyz authorities, research institutions and universities will attend this event to discuss urgent issues connected with disaster risk reduction in Kyrgyzstan.

gSmart PostDoc scholar reporting on his research activities

Temirkham Mukhambetov, a gSmart PostDoc scholar from Almaty Technological University in Kazakhstan reports on his research visit to the Faculty of Tourism, University of Malaga in Spain. Based on his investigations of clusters he suggests a conceptual model of a "Silk Road" mega cluster for Central Asia. Please read more on his research findings in his detailed report and on his e-portfolio.

Erasmus Mundus PostDoc scholarships: EU to CA

Invitation to apply for a 6 months Erasmus Mundus ‘gSmart’ PostDoc scholarship at a CA partner university: http://em-gsmart.zgis.net/ca-partner-contacts, if you have a genuine interest in GIScience and research in Central Asia. A detailed research/work plan and established contact to the host university is a necessary requirement. In addition to individual research activities, Postdoc scholars will be involved in co-teaching and team teaching at host universities.

>> more information: http://em-gsmart.zgis.net/ > PostDoc: EU to CA

Pilot Course

Msc in Geoinformatics course launched and testing of learning materials started in September 2014 at partner Uzbek Universities, within the frame of Tempus GE-UZ project. Students have initiated their studies in Geodesy and Cartography  (in geoinformatics) MSc group. Currently  there are two courses being taught by Professor Ilhom Musaev (GIS), Professor Eshkabul Safarov and Ziyo Ohunov (Cartography and Geovisualization).

There are: “Geo Information and Science” and “Cartography and Geovisualization”. Nowadays, students are preparing for final exams which will be held from 9th till 21st of February in 2015.
Almost all courses are provided in equipped study rooms which were financed by Tempus GE-UZ project.