European 'geospatial' scholarship info for KazNU students

On Nov 2nd, 78 students from a variety of departments attended a scholarship programme info afternoon offered at the Al-Farabi Kazakh National University Faculty of Geography and Environmental Sciences. Students with a record of excellence, outstanding language skills and a dedication to developing the foundations for an international career are invited to consider applying for short term, semester or full programme scholarships within the "gSmart" Erasmus Mundus initiative.

Successful applicants will attend one of six European partner universities in Austria, Hungary, the Netherlands Romania or Spain. A majority of scholarship recipients will study on MSc or PhD level, with Bachelor studies, Postdoc and Admin/Staff awards also available. The next call for applications will open on Dec 15, and a strong field of applicants is expected from KazNU.

Completing 'gSmart' Erasmus Mundus kickoff @KazNU

An intensive 2-day working meeting brought together representatives from 13 Central Asian and 6 European Universities cooperating in the implementation of this scholarship program for students and faculty from the geospatial disciplines. Led by Dr Aizhan Assylbekova as the joint coordinator in this Erasmus Mundus project, participants were developing initiatives and activities directed towards selecting the best and brightest of students for an opportunity to study at European partner universities.

Ms Giordana Bruno joined from Brussels representing the Erasmus Mundus Executive Agency, and Mr René Mally participated on behalf of the European Union Delegation to Kazakhstan. After the Dean of the Faculty of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Prof Vitali Salnikov had welcomed all delegates, they dedicated themselves to planning and taking all steps towards successful implementation of the programme with sustained outcomes and measurable impacts across Central Asia.

Over the coming years more than 100 top students from Central Asia will complement or conduct their studies in Geoinformatics and related disciplines at EU universities, making an important contribution to the development of this core discipline as well as numerous application domains throughout their home countries.

gSmart Erasmus Mundus Info Day at Gumilyev ENU

Today on Oct. 16,  Dr Ainura Nazarkulova from ACA*GIScience at KSUCTA Bishkek led an information day on gSmart scholarship opportunities at L.N.Gumilyov Eurasian National University (ENU) in Astana. Dr Nazarkulova started with a presentation introducing the overall framework of gSmart and giving recommendations for applications, followed by an intensive Q&A session with approx. 50 students and faculty attending the event.

ENU is one of 13 Central Asian partner universities in gSmart, offering attractive scholarship options to its students, faculty and staff. The event was held at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and organized by Prof. Musabaeva Meruet Nasurlaevna, Dr of Geography and Head of Physical and Economic Geography, and Senior Lecturer for GIS Babkenova Lazzat Temirhanovna.

Candidates from ENU are invited to apply during the second call for applications opening in December 2013. They are encouraged to study information available from the gSmart website > http://EM-gSmart.zgis.net in detail, and clarify any remaining questions through the ENU contact person, Prof. Nurzhan Kerimbay. A preregistration is being offered at any time, registrants will be informed by email as soon as the next call opens.

Tempus GeoDBMS Workshop for Uzbek Universities

Within the Tempus GE-UZ project >http://www.ge-uz.eu, teachers from four Uzbek universities will be trained in a four-week workshop at the University of West Hungary in Szekesfehervar, Hungary >http://www.geo.info.hu/english/.

Today this workshop started with a year-1 review meeting involving project contacts and leaders from partner universities, the Uzbek Ministry if Higher Education and the state enterprise 'Geoinformkadastr'. Progress towards curriculum and learning materials development, faculty development, accreditation and start of Geoinformatics MSc programs is being discussed.

The GE-UZ project is considered a key initiative towards implementation of Geoinformatics study programs at Uzbek universities, addressing the increasing demand for geospatial experts across a variety of disciplines in this country. Establishing and enhancing international collaboration certainly is a critically important step towards achieving these aims.

Open Call – apply now for Erasmus Mundus scholarships

The first call for applications within the Erasmus Mundus project ‘gSmart - Spatial ICT Infrastructures for Smart Places’ is opening on September 1, 2013 and is aiming at the following target disciplines: Geography, Geodesy, Architecture & Planning, (spatial) Social Sciences, Resource Management, Geology, Water & Environmental Studies, Agriculture, Regional Economics, Transportation, Civil Engineering and is open to students and graduates of other 'spatially oriented' disciplines!

These scholarships are for Central Asian students from Bachelor to PhD and Post-Doc levels, as well as academics to study/research/teach/work in one of the gSmart partner institutions in Europe. Only Master Level students will be funded for full academic periods of study. Before applying - please check your eligibility and scholarship conditions carefully on the Website: http://em-gsmart.zgis.net !

Project Office

University of Salzburg, Department of Geoinformatics, Z_GIS

Hellbrunner Strasse 34, 5020 Salzburg, Austria

http://em-gsmart.zgis.net

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gSmart - Spatial ICT Infrastructures for Smart Places

15.07.2013 - 14.7.2017

Erasmus Mundus Action 2

545696-EM-1-2013-1-AT-ERA MUNDUS-EMA21

Tempus GEM Final PM Meeting in Bishkek

The Tempus GEM project consortium was hosted on Aug 21-23 at the University of Central Asia (UCA) in Bishkek. This project had succeeded in establishing Geoinformatics MSc study programmes at partner universities across Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, as well as interdisciplinary Geoinformatics courses at additional partners.

In this final project management meeting all partners prepared not only for the reporting phase, but put a major emphasis on continuing support for the newly established curricula and programmes. Securing the sustainability of project outcomes tops the agenda - with ongoing needs like teacher training and international networking addressed through a variety of means.

As an international university covering all three participating countries, UCA was not only a very suitable host institution, but also contributed a strong forward looking vision towards internationalisation of higher education, quality assurance for qualifications and international connectivity within a community of practice.

KAzNU Joinining ACA*GIScience

In a signing ceremony in Almaty on Aug 20, followed by another in Bishkek on Aug 21, the Al-Farabi Kazakh National University (KazNU) joined the Austria-Central Asia Centre for GIScience (ACA*GIScience). Represented by Dean Vitali Salnikov from the Faculty of Geography and Environmental Sciences and in the presence of staff from the international department, KazNU and Prof Josef Strobl from the University of Salzburg signed the joining agreement.

Akylbek Chymyrov from ACA*GIScience
with Gulnara Nyussupova and Aizhan
Assylbekova (right) from KazNU in Bishkek

ACA*GIScience, originally established by the Eurasia-Pacific Uninet serves as a regional hub for the cooperation between Central Asian and Austrian universities. Joint activities include educational projects from the Tempus and Erasmus Mundus programmes, student and faculty mobility as well as access to the UNIGIS distance learning programme. A special highlight is the annual GISCA conference managed through ACA*GIScience.

Members in ACA*GIScience collaborate in numerous joint projects, in the development of regional Spatial Data Infrastructure components, and of course in capacity building initiatives. KazNU, as one of the leading universities in this region, will strengthen this network and certainly make important contributions to its succcess!