Planet Action Project is started at KSUCTA

ACA*GIScience KSUCTA Team has started a new project "Assessing Human Vulnerability to Climate Change" supported by the Planet Action - an Astrium GEO Initiative. Planet Action was launched in 2007 by Spot Image, leading supplier of satellite imagery and geo-information, joined by ESRI, leading GIS technologies provider as co-founder.

The main objective of the project is the assessment of human vulnerabilities in the selected 5 cities of Kyrgyzstan to climate change hazards such as flooding. High resolution satellite data for project will be supplied by the Spot Image. Satellite image processing and GIS software (e-Cognition and ArcGIS) will be provided by Trimble and ESRI.

Opening of the new GIS Lab at OshTU

The new GIS Computer Laboratory has been opened at Osh Technological University. This lab is aiming at  resolving the urgent needs in  academic and research activities in Geoinformation Science and Technology in South Kyrgyzstan. The advanced hardware and GIS software were granted within the EC TEMPUS Project "Geoinformatics – Managing Energy, Resources, Environment (GEM)". The official opening ceremony of this lab was held on October 3, 2012 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and attended by participants from the academic and industrial partners of TEMPUS GEM. The warm welcome by Prof.Dr. Josef Strobl, Project Coordinator from the University of Salzburg, was delivered to participants of this event through an online conference. The university leadership has highlighted the invaluable contribution of TEMPUS GEM Project for integration of OshTU into the international education system by developing the new MSc Program in Geoinformatics.

2012 Geoinformatics MSc Students

The 2012 batch of 10 Geoinformatics MSc Students have started their first semester at the Kyrgyz State University of Construction, Transport and Architecture (KSUCTA). The opening meeting of new students with their teachers was held at ACA*GIScience on September 15, 2012 with an online welcome message from Prof. Dr. Josef Strobl, TEMPUS GEM Project Coordinator. 

The newcomers have different academic backgrounds and a range of professional experience, and all express great interest in learning and improving their professional knowledge and skills in Geoinformation Science and Technology. Prof. Dr. Strobl has wished them well towards successful completion of their studies and research, supported by the international postgraduate GEM MSc Program.

  

GISCA 2012 Proceedings published!

Dear Participants of GISCA'12,
Dear Colleagues,
please find the electronic version of published GISCA-2012 Proceedings online at: http://tinyurl.com/GISCA12 or http://goo.gl/PDo7g
A paper hardcopy version will be available from the Austria-Central Asia Centre for GIScience (ACA*GIScience) at KSUCTA, tel. 0312-545602, gisca12@aca-giscience.org.
Thank you very much for your active participation in GISCA in 2012 and we look forward to meeting you at upcoming GISCA conferences.

Yours sincerely,
Akylbek Chymyrov, Ph.D., M.Eng. GISCA'12 Secretary
Head of Department "Geodesy and Geoinformatics" KSUCTA

Next UNIGIS course for Central Asia students

The UNIGIS study centre for Central Asia at ACA*GIScience in Bishkek has now opened the registration period for the next intake of distance learning students, starting with October 2012. Applications will be accepted until September 10, and candidates are expected to have a background in any 'spatial discipline' or experience in a GIS application domain.

UNIGIS Central Asia offers tutoring in Russian language, but as an international program requires profound English language skills for working with study materials, complete assignments and communicate within the worldwide network of UNIGIS students and alumni.

With a clear focus on continuing education for geospatial / GIS professionals, most candidates come from national and international organisations, the geospatial services industry, and academia. For the first time, candidates are offered the options of registering for a professional diploma or an MSc program of studies, with both qualifications awarded by the University of Salzburg, Austria.

Further information can be found at http://bishkek.unigis.net, email enquiries can be directed to office.bishkek@unigis.net

GISCA 2012 launched at KSUCTA Bishkek

Today, the GIS-in-Central-Asia conference was launched in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Dr Akylbek Chymyrov from the organizing institution ACA*GIScience welcomed participants from 12 countries to this annual event. Words of welcome were contributed by KSUCTA Rector Prof Akymbek Abdykalykov, Prof Dr Josef Strobl from the Austrian partner institution Z_GIS, Tempus national representative Gulnara Chokusheva and Stefano Ghielmetti from the main conference sponsor Trimble.

After a colorful and dynamic cultural welcome of songs and dances, Mr Ghielmetti offered a keynote with a range of case studies illustrating geospatial data acquisition and processing across many application domains. The conference now moves on into its scientific program of presentations, bringing together GIS specialists across the Eurasian continent. Developing a network of experts into communities of practice dedicated to excellence in Geospatial Sciences and innovation in applications and technologies is the main aim of the conference, and substantial progress is being made in this direction.

GISCA 2012 also serves as a teacher training and capacity building opportunity for the Tempus 'GEM' project aiming at developing dedicated Geoinformatics MSc programmes in Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.

GEM MSc student exchange

Mr. Adilet Bekturov, a GEM MSc Student of KSUCTA, is using the opportunity to attend short term Master's studies at the Geodesy and Geoinformatics Department of the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm. Prof. Dr. Huaan Fan, a Honorary Professor of KSUCTA, has invited Adilet to his department within a TEMPUS project for a two month study visit.

Prof. Dr. Fan was the Coordinator of the TEMPUS Project “Education in Geodesy and Geoinformatics”, jointly conducted by KTH, Z_GIS PLUS and KSUCTA in 2005-2007, and he is providing ongoing support to the “Geodesy and Geoinformatics” Department of KSUCTA, which originally was established within this Tempus project.