During the last week of July, the newly established Open Society University Network ‘s (OSUN) GeoHub, a joint initiative by Syslab's ISEPEI project, the American University of Central Asia (AUCA), and Bard College, successfully completed the Summer University course titled "Geospatial Technologies for Achieving Sustainable Development Goals - Food Security". It was an uplifting in-person event which took place between July 25-29 at CEU’s Budapest campus and was organized by CEU professor, Viktor Lagutov.
The course included a series of engaging workshops from top UN organizations, as well as geospatial technology-based institutions including renowned universities from around the world. The thematic areas of the workshop focused on the geospatial technologies in agriculture and digital transformation of rural areas, which included discussions on precision agriculture, mobile apps, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), drones, satellite imagery, and many more.
See here for event photo gallery
The event was co-funded by OSUN and conducted in cooperation with the American University of Central Asia (AUCA), and the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA). Although the workshop attracted a diverse group of participants, many from international organizations such as IMMAP, the UN World Food Program (WFP), the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and various other national governmental agencies, priority was provided to partakers from the GeoHUB partner institutions, namely CEU, AUCA, and Bard College.
During the week-long sessions, renowned experts shared their knowledge regarding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), food security, digital agriculture, crop monitoring, Earth observation technologies, and other latest geospatial technologies. The workshop faculty included prominent experts from leading information and technology forums such as the UNOOSA, United Nations Development Program (UNDP), United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), Group on Earth Observations (GEO), Global Environment Facility (GEF)/World Bank, AUCA, Babes-Bolyai University, Center for Research and Application of Satellite Remote Sensing (YUCARS) at Yamaguchi University, Airbus, ESRI, Google, MAXAR and Planet.
This GeoHub’s Summer University course is an academia-oriented activity of the professional ISEPEI "Bridging ICTs and the Environment'' workshop series run by Syslab every year since 2014. This series contributes to bridging the gap between developers and practitioners as the in-service training allows participants to hone their skills in such areas as satellite imagery, GIS, mobile applications, and other technologies that can be applied for data-driven decision-making and achieving and monitoring the various SDGs targets and indicators. Since 2014, the workshop has been conducted every year in cooperation with various UN agencies (FAO, UNDP, UNECE, UNEP, UNFPA, UNOOSA) and global key stakeholders in digital technologies (JRC, Airbus, ESRI, Google, MAXAR).
This year’s workshop, which encompassed approximately 45 people from across the globe, has effectively provided a significant platform for all participants and speakers to network and create professional connections, leading to future collaborations on environmental and food security projects around the world.
During the 2022/23 academic year, GeoHub will conduct a series of online and onsite trainings and workshops in Vienna, Budapest and Bishkek. The platform is open to any individual at an OSUN partner institution possessing geospatial skills or an interest in developing such expertise. Register here for updates on upcoming GeoHub activities or write to geohub@ceu.edu.
More about ISEPEI
The ISEPEI Project aims to address the gap between geospatial industry and practitioners by providing in-service education and professional training for environmental decision-makers and practitioners, who are in a position to greatly benefit from this data revolution to better shape management strategies and to make more informed, data-driven decisions.
For more information about ISEPEI courses: Workshops | In-Service ICT Training for Environmental Professionals (isepei.org)
