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!

gSmart - New Erasmus Mundus Project in CA

The new Erasmus Mundus Action 2 Project  "gSmart - Spatial ICT Infrastructures for Smart Places", coordinated by the  Department of Geoinformatics - Z_GIS, University of Salzburg, will start in Central Asia. Such a large scale international project is the result of long-term and successful academic and research cooperation between Central Asian and European universities and research institutions established and led by Z_GIS in the field of Geoinformation Science. The gSmart initiative will focus on facilitating academic mobility between European partners and universities in all five Central Asian countries.

UNIGIS distance learning MSc - registration open for fall 2013!

Interested students and professionals from Central Asia will again have the opportunity to enhance their qualifications and to improve their career prospects: the UNIGIS MSc in 'Geographic Information Science & Systems' as well as the 'UNIGIS professional' certificate are offered via online distance learning to active professionals and graduates aiming at making GIS and Geoinformatics the basis for their current and future jobs.

The globally recognized UNIGIS qualifications are offered in Central Asia in a cooperation between the University of Salzburg's Z_GIS competence centre and the Austria-Central Asia Centre for GIScience - ACA*GIScience. Degrees and certificates are awarded from the University of Salzburg, Austria. The UNIGIS study programmes for Central Asia are based on English language online materials with support from instructors in local languages.

Registration now is open for the fall 2013 intake of students, starting in October. Enquiries can be directed to unigis@aca-giscience.org and a brochure for Central Asian students is available online. An informational video and a general information brochure about UNIGIS MSc and certificate studies provide additional detail.

Explore the potential of UNIGIS online qualifications to enhance your career prospects - applications are accepted within the coming weeks!

UNIGIS - Educating GIS Professionals Worldwide.

KSUCTA GEM students have passed the State Exam

Today the second year GEM students of KSUCTA have passed the State Examination on professional modules of MSc Program. Dr. Ermek Sharsheev, the Chairman of the State Attestation Commission, has acknowledged and emphasized the high level of acquired knowledge of our Tempus 'GEM' Geoinformatics students and advanced professional GIS skills.


Six students now have completed the theoretical part of their studies and are working towards finalizing their Master theses.  The Chairman has highlighted the growing importance of Geoinformation science and technologies as well as interest from the academic-research and industrial institutions of Kyrgyzstan.

GISCA'13 Proceedings published

The Proceedings volume of the 7th Central Asia GIS Conference "Connected Regions: Societies, Economies and Environments", May 2-3, 2013, KazNU, Almaty, now is published and available for download at http://tinyurl.com/GISCA13 . Print hardcopy is available on request from ACA*GIScience, KSUCTA,  Maldybaeva Str. 34 "b", Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan or at KazNU, Al-Farabi avenue 71, Almaty, Kazakhstan.  
Contact:  gisca13@aca-giscience.org

This publication now has evolved into an annual review and 'yearbook' of GIS research and applications across Central Asia. The GISCA conference series is providing a platform for researchers and educators from different countries to get together, exchange experiences, and develop plans for future initiatives.

Thanks are due to all authors and reviewers working diligently on good quality papers, the editorial team and the conference organisers for facilitating the overall framework, and to Trimble for making this publication possible through their sponsorship!

uniGIs Quiz at GISCA

UNIGIS Central Asia has organized a quiz of Geoinformatics knowledge and competences during the current GISCA conference. All participants were invited to test their knowledge across the areas of spatial data models, spatial analysis, remote sensing and cartography.
Everyone who is not a teacher in a Geoinformatics program took part in a competition for token prices donated by conference sponsor Trimble, hosts KazNU and UNIGIS International. Corresponding to GISCA'13, 13 questions had to be answered, resulting in a tight field of top performers reaching the critical threshold of 30 points:

1. Alishir Kurban (CAS IEG, Urumqi)
2. Hasan Safarov (TAU Dushanbe)
3. Gulnura Orozalieva and  Tatygul Urmanbetova (KSUCTA Bishkek)
4. Kubanychbek Koshoev (KSUCTA Bishkek)
5. Evgeniy Shibkov (KSUCTA Bishkek) 

Congratulations to the winners, and thanks to all participant for facing this interesting challenge!