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Geospatial Technologies
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OSUN logo
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ISEPEI logo
Course date
July 22–26, 2024
Location
Budapest
Application deadline
Application for this course is closed
ECTS Credits
1.0
Course delivery
In-person
SUN Packages
Fee-Paying
Tuition Waiver
Partial Scholarship
Full Scholarship

Geospatial technologies and remote sensing are valuable resources for monitoring the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their corresponding targets and indicators. They enable unbiased observation and analysis across borders, administrative boundaries, and nations. Furthermore, geospatial information and technologies are particularly critical for strengthening urban and rural resilience, where economic, agricultural, and various social sectors intersect.

However, there is still a gap between the tremendous potential of these technologies and the world of environmental decision- and policy-makers. Not only can the immense realm of geospatial technologies seem daunting, but it is also challenging to keep up with the ever-evolving applications of geospatial technologies.

This year’s workshop emphasizes building community resilience to disasters and climate change, aligned with the UN's "Early Warnings for All" initiative.

This workshop aims to address this gap by providing in-service education and professional training for decision-makers and practitioners to assist them in making better-informed data-driven decisions. Furthermore, the workshop looks towards the future, engaging youth and our future leaders in the current practices of evidence-based decision-making.

The target group for this workshop includes professionals from national agencies and international organizations, relevant NGO representatives, and academia, including both students and faculty. Among academia, priority will be given to graduate students in public policy and environmental management from the OSUN and CIVICA partner institutions.

This year's workshop explores the use of geospatial technologies for building and improving the resilience of communities to disasters and climate change. Keynote speakers will deliver theoretical presentations and share their best-use practices of geospatial technologies, which will be followed by practical sessions on their application.

The workshop is organized by Central European University (CEU) and the American University of Central Asia (AUCA) in cooperation with the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA). The workshop is co-funded by the Open Society University Network (OSUN), and OSUN students and faculty are especially encouraged to apply and gain financial support as well as ECTS credits.

About ISEPEI

The Introduction to Geospatial Technologies for Monitoring SDGs – Early Warnings for All workshop continues the series of joint UN-CEU training events under the ISEPEI Project "Bridging ICTs and the Environment." The ISEPEI Project aims to address the gap between the geospatial industry and practitioners by providing in-service education and professional training for environmental decision-makers and practitioners who can greatly benefit from this data revolution to better shape management strategies and make more informed, data-driven decisions.

The "Bridging ICTs and the Environment" workshop series provides an opportunity for non-specialists to get updated on the latest advances in geospatial technologies and to see how these technologies can be applied in monitoring various Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Satellite Imagery, Geographic Information Systems, mobile applications, and other technologies can help achieve and monitor the targets and indicators for numerous SDGs. Focusing on various SDGs, the series has been successfully conducted at CEU in cooperation with various UN agencies (UNEP, UNDP, UNOOSA, UNFPA, UNECE, UN FAO, etc.) and global key stakeholders in digital technologies (EU JRC, Airbus, Esri, Google, MAXAR, etc.) since 2014.

For more information about ISEPEI workshops http://isepei.org/workshops.

Target groups

  • Environmental and public policy practitioners;
  • Graduate students and junior researchers from the OSUN and CIVICA networks.

Pre-requisites

  • Proven professional and/or academic focus on resilience-related topics (disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation, environmental studies, etc.) or geospatial technologies (GIS, remote sensing); 
  • Intermediate computer user skills.

Language requirements 
The language of instruction is English; thus all applicants have to demonstrate a strong command of spoken and written English to be able to participate actively in discussions at seminars and workshops.

  • Disaster resilience
  • Climate change
  • Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
  • Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs)
  • Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
  • Remote Sensing
  • Satellite Imagery

"I have attended workshops in both Europe and US, but none other course had this level of variations in the sessions. I would definitely say this was the best workshop series I had in life."

"The course provided great ideas, opportunities, and experiences to integrate geospatial technology into my further research and profession."

"The course is excellent, very practical, and overall eye-opening."

"The course conveyed the most recent trends in the area keeping its participants up-to-date in the field of expertise. The level of the course was high."

Please read the following directions carefully. 
Below is the list of the documents you need to prepare or arrange for submission:

  1. Completed Online SUN Application Form (see notes below)
  2. Full Curriculum Vitae or Resume, including a list of publications, if any
    Please upload your Curriculum vitae or resume, including a list of publications, if any.
  3. Statement of Purpose (max. 1 page) 
    In the Statement of purpose, please describe your relevant professional experience and qualifications (resilience or geotechnologies-related), how the course is relevant to your professional work, and in what way you / your organization expect to benefit from it. Please list relevant organization activities, the tasks you are responsible for, and how the program will contribute to those.
  4. Personal Statement on Financial Aid
    Those who are eligible and wish to apply for financial aid should specify their reasons in the “Personal statement on financial aid” section (Funding page of the application form).

Optional Attachments:

  • You can upload further optional documents on the Qualifications page such as academic documents that you think may be relevant to support your application in the 'Other Supporting Documents' section. All documents should be merged into a single PDF file not exceeding the size 2 MB. No passwords and encryption are allowed.

Completed CEU Summer University Application Form

We strongly advise the use of Google Chrome to enable the full functionality of the form.

Notes:

  • You may apply to a maximum of two summer courses. In case of being admitted, you can only attend both if the two courses do not overlap in time.
  • If you applied to CEU before, please use your existing login and password to start a new application. If you do not remember your password from last year click on Forgotten Password. With technical problems, bugs, or errors related to the online application forms please contact the CEU IT Help Desk.
  • Right after login, please select the ”Summer University” radio button from the "Type of course" list, and leave all other fields empty.
  • All application materials must be submitted with the online application form(s). Materials sent by postal mail, electronic mail, or fax are not considered.
  • The maximum allowable file size for upload is 2MB per file and the acceptable file formats are PDF, JPG, and JPEG. Ensure all security features (e.g. passwords and encryption) are removed from the documents before uploading them.
  • Applications cannot be edited after submission. Please submit your application only when it is 100% final and complete.
  • Further user instructions for the online application are included in the form itself. Should you have questions regarding the application form, check the relevant Frequently Asked Questions.
  • Applications submitted after the deadline will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Inquiries

If you need help or more information during the application process, please feel free to contact the SUN staff via email.

Notification

The SUN Office will notify applicants about the selection results in April. Please check the 'Dates and deadlines' section on the relevant course websites for notification deadlines planned earlier or later. The final decision is not open to appeal.