Work PLan
An analysis of regional and local research and development needs in Geoinformation Technologies (GIT) was made by: (1) Compiling previous analyses, documents and reports in these fields; (2) Elaborating a survey questionnaire and distributing it among relevant stakeholders in both countries; (3) Analyzing information and survey, focusing in training needs, GIT priorities and opportunities; and (4) Integrating the results in a written report and disseminate it.
Survey questionnaire:
GeoTAK research and development in GIT survey questionnaire report:
- Needs Analysis Report (.pdf)
One National Research Node (NRN) has been created by country. NRN are non-physical research centers to promote the collaboration between partner universities in the research and development of Geoinformation Technologies (GIT), to promote the exchange of ideas, activities, joint theses at post-graduate level, etc., providing sustainability to the NRN.
Meetings:
- Armenia: Attendance list, Minutes and more news.
- Kyrgyzstan: Letter of Invitation and minute (English, Russian).
NRN-GIT agreements:
- Agreement (Armenia) (.pdf)
- Agreement (Kyrgyzstan) (.pdf)
Each partner country selected between 10 and 18 suitable candidates from strategic stakeholders in the areas of innovation applications in GIT. The Boards were composed of representatives with management tasks from government bodies and agencies, GIT industry, and higher education partner institutions. The Boards are having annual meetings and advising the NRN-GIT in each partner country during and after the project.
- List of members of the Advisory Board (Armenia) (.pdf)
- List of members of the Advisory Board (Kyrgyzstan) (.pdf)
A careful definition of needs for equipment and software was done. The purchase was made strictly following the official national procedures in Armenia and Kyrgystan, and presented and evaluated by partners. The phases followed were:
- Partner country universities carried out a careful analysis of needs.
- Definition of equipment and analyse acquisition options per country were done.
- Collection of tenders from major software and hardware providers.
- Final decision and purchase of equipment and software.
- Initial list of GeoTAK equipment (.pdf)
Equipment purchases by partner university:
- National University Of Architecture And Construction Of Armenia (NUACA) (.pdf). University Inventory.
- Yerevan State University (YSU) (.pdf).
- Armenian National Agrarian University (ANAU) (.pdf)
- Kyrgyz State University of Construction, Transport and Architecture named after N. Isanov (KSUCTA) (.pdf and more news)
- Kyrgyz State University of Geology, Mining and Natural Resources Development named after academic U. Asanaliev (KSMU) (.pdf)
- Osh Technological University named after M.M. Adyshev (OstTU) (.pdf)
GIT research and innovation laboratories have been created/update in each university. The equipment was installed and tested. A short training of the software by EU staff and students was implemented. In addition, opening ceremonies were held for the new GIT research and innovation labs where university staff, students, social partners and the media were invited. These events were used to explain to the society the main future activities.
Opening the new Lab in GIT in Osh Technological University
On Tuesday, March 22, the opening ceremony of the first in situ activities of the GeoTAK project was held at Osh Technological University.
More news.
Opening of the Lab in GIT at the Kyrgyz State University of Construction, Transport and Architecture (KSUCTA)
On Friday, March 25, 2022, in the morning, the updated laboratory in Geoinformation Technologies (GIT) at KSUCTA was officially openned.
More news.
Opening of the Lab in GIT at the Kyrgyz State University of Geology, Mining and Natural Resources (KSMU)
On the evening of Friday, March 25, 2022, the opening of the new laboratory in Geoinformation Technologies (GIT) was held at the Kyrgyz State Univ. of Geology, Mining and Natural Resources, named after academic U. Asanaliev (KSMU).
More news.
Opening of the Lab in GIT at the Armenian National Agrarian University (ANAU)
On the morning of Monday, October 10, 2022, the opening of the new laboratory in Geoinformation Technologies (GIT) was held at the Armenian National Agrarian University (ANAU).
More news.
Checking of equipment purchased for the new Lab in GIT at the Yerevan State University (YSU)
In the afternoon of Friday, October 14, 2022, a visit was organized to Yerevan State University (YSU) for a meeting with the Rector and, among other activities, we reviewed the equipment purchased for the new laboratory in Geoinformation Technologies (GIT).
More news.
Previous to the presential courses and as a consequence of the mobility restrictions produced by the COVID-19 pandemic, a online course was implemented. This course was focused on the basic concepts in Geoinformation Technologies such as “Fundamentals of remote sensing”, “Copernicus – Sentinel: platforms, sensors and data” or “LiDAR systems and applications”. Specialists from the European partners (UL, VUB, UPV and KTH) participated in this course. All interested professors and students from Armenian and Kyrgyz universities participated in this online training.
The contents were sent in advance to all partners and the evaluation was done at the end.
This course was divided into two parts, one held in Ljubljana and the other one in Yerevan.
- The course in Ljubljana was focused on land use/Land cover classification techniques and UAV photogrammetric data processing techniques. VUB has extensive experience in this subject, and an additional specialist from UL participated in the course. A total of 37 participants were selected, 7 persons in situ and 30 persons online. All Armenian participants were online: 8 persons from NUACA, 4 from YSU, 3 from ANUA and MESCS, and 2 from CCRA. From the Kyrgyz partners, 3 persons from KSUCTA, 1 from KSMU and 3 from OshTU were able to travel. Also attending by videoconference were 8 persons from KSUCTA and 2 from KSMU.
- The course in Yerevan was focused on the techniques of Gravity, geoid and geodetic reference systems, UAV photogrammetric flight planning and Land mapping using hyperspectral data with former specialists from KTH, VUB, UL and UPV. A total of 38 participants were selected: 4 persons from NUACA, 15 from ANUA, 6 from YSU, 3 persons each from MESCS and KSMU, 2 from CCRA, KSUCTA, OshTU and 1 from Goscartography.
The contents were sent in advance to all partners and the evaluation was done at the end.
This course was conducted in a hybrid form (online and presential) as the Armenian, Slovenian and Belgian partners were unable to travel to Kyrgyzstan due to the outbreak of war in Ukraine. This course was focused on natural resources, particularly sustainable use and exploitation of natural resources using remote sensing. From Slovenia and Belgium the professors from UL and VUB, conducted the classes online and the professors from UPV provided the classes in Osh. A total of 17 persons from Kyrgyzstan participated in situ and 10 persons from Armenia participated telematically. Contents were sent in advance to all partners.
At the same time, the KTH professors conducted a lectures for students and teachers of KSUCTA and KSMU. The main topics of these lectures were: “Satellite-based Earth monitoring using altimetry” and “Mathematical basics for GIT students”.
In order to become familiar with the procedures of the Erasmus + program and the practical issues of implementing this type of project, an online meeting was held with the National Coordinator of the Erasmus+ Office in Kyrgyzstan. Also in this activity, other Erasmus+ projects in Kyrgyzstan were presented.
During this activity special attention was paid to the issues of ensuring the quality of curricula development, project implementation in accordance with the project work plan, logical matrix, measures for the sustainability of the project, as well as achieving the project objectives taking into account the current situation with COVID.
Meeting of the CBHE projects’ representatives in Kyrgyzstan was organized at KSUSTA on 6 April 2021.
A quality assurance plan was developed by VUB partner country institution with the participation and support of other national partners and EU universities. The purpose was to foster the sustainability of curricula developed with the engagement of social stakeholders.
Field monitoring visits to organisations in the Partner Countries are particularly important in order to evaluate the impact of the project in these countries and to assess the sustainability prospects of the project outcomes.
Due to the limited possibility of travel during 2021 due to COVID-19 restrictions, the monitoring of the Partner Countries was conducted through successive videoconferences. These videoconferences provided the opportunity to ensure sound and effective management of CBHE funds.
Some of the activities carried out during the visits to the Partner Countries were:
- Received feedback and reports from partners about the development of project activities and potential problems
- Analysed the relationship between partners and identify communication lacks
- Discussed and proposed solutions to improve the efficiency of the project
The first kick-off meeting took place online in Bishkek co-organised by KSUCTA and KSMU.
- The partners were introduced
- The project proposal was revised
- A project management group was formed
- A quality committee was formed
- Quality plan draft was discussed
- A work plan was done for the first year.
The KoM was conducted in three days:
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Throughout the first year of the project, the coordinator ensured that all project activities were well organized despite restrictions produced by Covid-19, that the necessary funds were transferred to complete all programmed outputs, and that all partner requirements and doubts were resolved during project implementation.
To carry out these functions, the coordinator maintained fluid communication with all partner contacts persons and monitored all activities from planning to implementation, evaluation and reporting.
The project management committee held five meetings each year of the project. In order to be cost effective, they were programmed together with other activities of the project.
In the meetings, the leader of WP presents the reports of the work done; there is a discussion of activities, and a workplan of coming activities for next year is worked out.
Project Management Meeting Online (February 11 and 12, 2021)
Project Management Meeting Online (March 26, 2021)
Project Management Meeting Online (May 7, 2021):
Project Management Meeting Online (June 24, 2021):
Project Management Meeting Online (October 29, 2021):
Project Management Meeting Online (January 21, 2022):
Project Management Meeting in KSUCTA, Bishkek (March 26, 2022):
Project Management Meeting in UL, Ljubljana (June 14, 2022):
Project Management Meeting in NUACA, Yerevan (October 14, 2022):
Project Management Meeting in UPV, Valencia (November 29, 2022):
Project Management Meeting online (March 10, 2023):
Project Management Meeting in KTH, Stockholm (June 21, 2023):
Project Management Meeting online (October 20, 2023):
One-on-one meetings were organised among partners as a complement to the annual meetings, in order to face specific aspects or management problems of the project that required fast communication.
The Dissemination & Exploitation plan has been prepared.
In Armenia and Kyrgyzstan, local partners have held events or disseminated news to promote the GeoTAK project.
- Dissemination video and poster of the activities carried out in the framework of the GeoTAK project by the universities of KSUCTA, KSMU and OshTU on the Erasmus days.
- Visit to the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED). In this Center, the Armenian and Kyrgyz partners were able to see the work that CRED has been developing for more than 40 years in the fields of international disaster and conflict health studies, with activities linking relief, rehabilitation and development. CRED also had the opportunity to learn about the GeoTAK project so that joint activities can be developed in the future.
- The Cadastre Committee of the Republic of Armenia announces on its website its support for the pilot Ph.D. program in the field of Geographic Information Technologies with specializations “Geodesy, including cartography and cadastre” and “Geography” between three universities of Armenia: National University of Architecture and Construction of Armenia, Yerevan State University and National Agrarian University of Armenia.
- The GeoTAK project was presented at the Central Asia GIS Conference – GISCA 2023: “Geospatial approaches to understanding a changing world” in a special session. In this session, a member of each of the GeoTAK project partners presented different aspects of the project.
Three main project websites were done by UPV, KSUCTA and NUACA connected to other informative websites in partner and programme country universities and UPV, as coordinator.
The structure and contents of the websites were defined by all partners.
The management committee of the project is in charge of co-ordinating the continuous update of the information.
An intranet is included for internal communication in the main website.
In this activity, digital and printed promotion booklets and brochures of the GeoTAK project were published in partner countries.
NRN-GIT was promoted by booklets, brochures and reports, by involved partners. Continuing education was advertised by mailing, in digital form and short descriptive digital brochures to target stakeholders. Electronic technical booklets were published through the internet and distributed.
NRN-GIT dissemination activities:
- Meeting at the cadaster Committee of the RA with stakeholders, presenting the results of the survey in GIT and debating the missions of the NRC in AR. More news.
- GeoTAK NRN-GIT in GIS in Central Asia Conference (GISCA) 2022. Presentation and more News.
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- Dissemination video and poster of the activities carried out in the framework of the GeoTAK project and the NRN-GIT by the universities of KSUCTA, KSMU and OshTU on the Erasmus days.
Armenia
On October 26-27, 2023, the Workshop on Research and Innovation was held at Yerevan State University (YSU) in Yerevan, Armenia. In this event, the results of the needs analysis of local and national needs for research and development in the field of GIT carried out within the framework of the GeoTAK project were presented, as well as the new Ph.D. program to be carried out jointly at three universities: YSU, NUACA, and ANAU.
An industrial PhD thesis is a research developed within a company (private sector company, public sector or public administration) in any area of knowledge, industrial research work or experimental development. It pretends to promote research in the business sector and the participation of the industry in doctoral programs, encourage the transfer of knowledge in the university and its environment, and promote the labour insertion of interested young people.
In this task, the concept of industrial PhD was introduced and regulated in partner country universities with the collaboration of industry. Ministries of Education and university administrations played an important role.
Presentation by the GeoTAK coordinator of the industrial phd concept.
The course in Valencia at UPV was focused on Cultural Heritage. Specifically, three topics were explained: “Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) concepts, applications and data collection”; “Terrestrial Laser Scanner (TLS) in cultural heritage: data collection and 3D reconstruction”; and “Multiband techniques for CH documentation” by UPV teachers. In addition, the new UPV teachers Julia & Denys Gorkovchuk from Ukraine presented “Geoinformation tools for Cultural Heritage”. A total of 30 participants were selected: 6 persons from NUACA, 4 persons each from ANUA and KSMU, 3 persons each from YSU, MESCS, KSUCTA and OshTU, 2 persons each from CCRA and Goscartography.
The course at VUB in Brussels, between from December 5 to 8, 2022, was focused on Natural Hazard. Specifically, three topics were explained: “Remote sensing for geohazard mapping and monitoring”; “Hyperspectral remote sensing 4”; “Rapid flood mapping with SAR images in GEE”; and “Photogrammetry, Geohazards and Volcanology” by VUB and UPV teachers. A total of 19 participants were selected: 4 persons from KSMU, 3 persons each from ANUA, NUACA, OshTU and KSUCTA, 2 persons from CCRA and 1 person from YSU.
The Cities training will be held at NUACA, Yerevan between in April 2023.
The EU partners have organized a transversal training course divided into three parts.
The first part has taken place online due to delays in the project activity schedule as a result of COVID-19. The workshop consisted of a four-hour where experts from EU partner universities and an invited external expert from JagiellonianUniversity (Krakow, Poland) discussed the basic information on the Bologna Process, European Higher Education Area, Bologna tools, Qualifications frameworks, factors to be taken into account in the Curriculum development, etc.
The second part has tak place in Ljubljana (UL) and consisted in three days workshop in quality assurance in higher education with the participation of the same experts for training in good practices in quality assurance and implementing EU standards.
- Agenda
- Presentations:
Basic information on the Bologna Process – Marek Frankowicz, Jagiellonian, University in Krakow.
Introduction to the Curricula development workshop – Marek Frankowicz, Jagiellonian, University in Krakow.
Remarks on curricula development – Marek Frankowicz, Jagiellonian, University in Krakow.
Industrial PhD – Luis Á. Ruiz, UPV.
Rules and regulations for doctoral studies at the university of Ljubljana – UL.
The third part took place in Brussels (VUB) and consisted in showing a real case of the PhD programs performance in an EU university, as well as the rules and procedures for the accreditation of PhD programs.
- Agenda
- Presentations:
Training and development of PhD Candidates – Hannelore De Grande, VUB.
Joint and Double PhD Degree – Petra Courjaret, VUB.
Doctoral Program in EU: Accreditation requirements for PhD program in Europe and learning outcomes for doctoral courses – Carlos Machado, VUB.
In this task, each partner university has created interdisciplinary curricula in GIT at master and/or PhD level adapted to their needs, and developed course contents and teaching materials. The reform of curricula or creation of interdisciplinary doctorate per partner country university has focused in the application of new Geoinformation Technologies and modern equipment to the relevant research topics identified in WP1, integrating topics and involving external stakeholders from administration and industry in the definition of goals.
Curricula development:
- KSUCTA PhD Program “Geodesy and Geoinformation Technologies” (English, Russian and Teachers). KSUCTA PhD License (.pdf).
- KSMU PhD Programs: “Applied Geology” (English and Russian) and “Mining” (English and Russian). KSMU PhD License (.pdf).
- OshTU PhD Program “Cartography and Geoinformatics” (English and Russian). OshTU PhD License (.pdf).
- Joint Armenian Degree on Geoinformation Technology between ANAU, YSU and NUACA (.pdf).
Related activities:
- Inter-Project meeting between ARMDOCT and GeoTAK. The consortium members of Erasmus + ARMDOCT and GEOTAK projects co-funded by the EU met to discuss cooperation possibilities for the reform of Doctoral Education in Armenia and to strengthen the project outcomes on the national level. More News.
- Meeting in the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of Armenia with the Deputy Minister. More News.
On June 7 and 8, 2023, curriculum development and teaching material meetings were held in Bulan-Segettu (Cholponata), where professors from the universities of Armenia and Kyrgyzstan had the opportunity to present the new courses of the doctoral programs and received the comments and observations of the European partners. More News.
New course contents in GIS, applied photogrammetry, remote sensing, geodesy, 3D visualization, etc. are being developed. For each course, the following information is being included: course name, semester, ECTS, learning objectives, competencies, prerequisites, theoretical lessons, practical exercises and projects, bibliography and other sources, faculty, and other information required by the regulations of each university.
Course description (Syllabus):
KSUCTA (Geodesy and GeoInformation Technologies)
- Spatial Data Science (.pdf)
- Scientific Research Methodology and Methods (.pdf)
- Academic Writing and Communication (.pdf)
- History and Philosophy of Science – Scientometrics (.pdf)
- Pedagogy and psychology of high school (.pdf)
- Critical thinking and research (.pdf)
- Introduction to Geospatial Programming – Applied Mathematics and Statistics (.pdf)
- Coordinate Systems in Geodesy (.pdf)
- Advanced Geoinformation Technologies (.pdf)
- Integrated Positioning and Navigation – Physical Geodesy (.pdf)
- Remote Sensing Applications in Land and Environmental Management – Spatial Data Infrastructure (.pdf)
KSMU (Applied Geology)
- Spatial Data Science (.pdf)
- Scientific Research Methodology and Methods – Academic Writing and Communication (.pdf)
- History and Philosophy of Science – Scientometrics (.pdf)
- Modern Data Analysis Methods: Geostatistics, Neural Networks and Programming Basics (.pdf)
- Digital Technologies in Applied Geology: Modeling of Geological Objects and Processes (.pdf)
- Advanced Geoinformation Technologies in Geology (.pdf)
- Innovative Methods and Technologies in Search and Exploration of Mineral Resources
- Modern Methods and Technologies of Remote Sensing in Geology (.pdf)
KSMU (Mining)
- Spatial Data Science (.pdf)
- Scientific Research Methodology and Methods – Academic Writing and Communication (.pdf)
- History and Philosophy of Science – Scientometrics (.pdf)
- Introduction to Geospatial Programming – Applied Mathematics and Statistics (.pdf)
- Digital technologies in mine surveying: movement and deformation of rocks due to mining (.pdf)
- Advanced Geoinformation Technologies in Mining (.pdf)
- Perspective Geotechnologies for Open Pit Mining of Mineral Deposits (.pdf)
- Perspective Geotechnologies for Underground Mining of Mineral Deposits (.pdf)
OshTU (Cartography and GeoInformatics)
- Spatial Data Sciences (Data models, Data acquisition and integration) (.pdf)
- Research Methodology/Academic Writing and Communication (.pdf)
- History and philosophy of science (Patenting and protection of intellectual property) (.pdf)
- Spatial Analysis (.pdf)
- GIS and Data Visualization (.pdf)
- Advanced Remote Sensing (.pdf)
- Spatial Data Infrastructure (.pdf)
- Earth observation (.pdf)
- Positioning and navigation (.pdf)
- Geospatial BIG Data (.pdf)
NUACA (Joint PhD Program on Geoinformation Technology)
YSU (Joint PhD Program on Geoinformation Technology)
ANAU (Joint PhD Program on Geoinformation Technology)
A quality assurance plan was developed by VUB partner country institution with the participation and support of other national partners and EU universities. The purpose was to foster the sustainability of curricula developed with the engagement of social stakeholders.
Field monitoring visits to organisations in the Partner Countries are particularly important in order to evaluate the impact of the project in these countries and to assess the sustainability prospects of the project outcomes.
These visits provided an opportunity to ensure sound and effective management of the CBHE funds and at the same time provided increased visibility of the EU support in the target countries.
Some of the activities carried out during the visits to the Partner Countries were:
- Received feedback and reports from partners about the development of project activities and potential problems
- Meeting were held with students and social stakeholders to collect opinions about project implementation and dissemination
- Analysed the relationship between partners and identify communication lacks
- Discussed and proposed solutions to improve the efficiency of the project
European partners visit Goscartography in Biskek. More news.
Meeting with the Rectors of ANAU, NUACA and YSU. More news.
Independent international experts and consulting will evaluate the project in situ at the end of the second year, they will meet the main actors (teachers, students, administration and industry), visit the new GIT laboratories, analyse the curricula development, and quality assurance outcomes, that will be presented to them by each partner. They will write an evaluation report highlighting the main advances, relevant issues and providing suggestions to the partners to improve the results. This will complement the evaluation at institutional and national levels performed during the project.
Throughout the second year of the project, the coordinator ensured that all project activities were well organized, that the necessary funds were transferred to complete all programmed outputs, and that all partner requirements and doubts were resolved during project implementation.
To carry out these functions, the coordinator maintained fluid communication with all partner contacts persons and monitored all activities from planning to implementation, evaluation and reporting.
The project management committee held five meetings each year of the project. In order to be cost effective, they were programmed together with other activities of the project.
In the meetings, the leader of WP presents the reports of the work done; there is a discussion of activities, and a workplan of coming activities for next year is worked out.
Project Management Meeting Online (February 11 and 12, 2021)
Project Management Meeting Online (March 26, 2021)
Project Management Meeting Online (May 7, 2021):
Project Management Meeting Online (June 24, 2021):
Project Management Meeting Online (October 29, 2021):
Project Management Meeting Online (January 21, 2022):
Project Management Meeting in KSUCTA, Bishkek (March 26, 2022):
Project Management Meeting in UL, Ljubljana (June 14, 2022):
Project Management Meeting in NUACA, Yerevan (October 14, 2022):
Project Management Meeting in UPV, Valencia (November 29, 2022):
Project Management Meeting online (March 10, 2023):
Project Management Meeting in KTH, Stockholm (June 21, 2023):
Project Management Meeting online (October 20, 2023):
One-on-one meetings were organised among partners as a complement to the annual meetings, in order to face specific aspects or management problems of the project that required fast communication.
The Dissemination & Exploitation plan has been prepared.
In Armenia and Kyrgyzstan, local partners have held events or disseminated news to promote the GeoTAK project.
- Dissemination video and poster of the activities carried out in the framework of the GeoTAK project by the universities of KSUCTA, KSMU and OshTU on the Erasmus days.
- Visit to the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED). In this Center, the Armenian and Kyrgyz partners were able to see the work that CRED has been developing for more than 40 years in the fields of international disaster and conflict health studies, with activities linking relief, rehabilitation and development. CRED also had the opportunity to learn about the GeoTAK project so that joint activities can be developed in the future.
- The Cadastre Committee of the Republic of Armenia announces on its website its support for the pilot Ph.D. program in the field of Geographic Information Technologies with specializations “Geodesy, including cartography and cadastre” and “Geography” between three universities of Armenia: National University of Architecture and Construction of Armenia, Yerevan State University and National Agrarian University of Armenia.
- The GeoTAK project was presented at the Central Asia GIS Conference – GISCA 2023: “Geospatial approaches to understanding a changing world” in a special session. In this session, a member of each of the GeoTAK project partners presented different aspects of the project.
During the second year of the project, the three official web pages have been regularly updated. Content has been added to the news by each responsible (UPV, KSUCTA and NUACA) and each activity carried out in the workplan has been modified. On the other hand, the website of the project has been disseminated among other media and activities in order to increase the visibility of the project.
In this activity, digital and printed promotion booklets and brochures of the GeoTAK project were published in partner countries.
NRN-GIT was promoted by booklets, brochures and reports, by involved partners. Continuing education was advertised by mailing, in digital form and short descriptive digital brochures to target stakeholders. Electronic technical booklets were published through the internet and distributed.
NRN-GIT dissemination activities:
- Meeting at the cadaster Committee of the RA with stakeholders, presenting the results of the survey in GIT and debating the missions of the NRC in AR. More news.
- GeoTAK NRN-GIT in GIS in Central Asia Conference (GISCA) 2022. Presentation and more News.
-
- Dissemination video and poster of the activities carried out in the framework of the GeoTAK project and the NRN-GIT by the universities of KSUCTA, KSMU and OshTU on the Erasmus days.
This task force is focusing on promoting the maintenance of the project’s achievements and philosophy in the long term, involving the Advisory Board, higher education institutions, students and society in promoting ideas and activities that will ensure sustainability. The cooperation agreement following the creation of NRN-GIT, is being signed by universities, industry and administration, future research collaboration activities and standards have been defined, and an important link is being created for the exploitation and sustainability of the project. During the project, meetings and workshops are being scheduled to engage stakeholders and promote sustainability.
- Meeting of the project management committee with the Deputy Ministry of Education of Armenia, to facilitate the beginning of a piloting PhD joint programme. More news.
- Meeting in Goscartography to analyze national needs in KG and focus GeoTAK actions and trainings. More news.
- Meetings of the project management committee with the rectors of the 6 PC universities, consolidating their support and fostering sustainability. More news.
- Agreement between KSTU and NUACA on joint academic programs, project work and students and teachers mobility (.pdf).
In this workshop, researchers and stakeholders from the two countries, AR and KG, will share their experiences and opportunities in research, innovation and development, obtaining comparative conclusions that will also be used for sustainability and exploitation purposes. This is intended to be at the end of the project.
The technical training (6) in Kyrgyzstan was focused on Environmental monitoring and risk control. This training was divided into two parts, one held at OshTU University in Osh and the other at KSTU University in Bishkek.
- In Osh three topics were explained: “Point cloud classification” by professors Luis A. and Jesús Torralba from UPV, “Geospatial data modelling and analyses within GIS” by professors Jernej Tekavec and Anka Lisec from UL; and Jonathan Chan from VUB gave a class online on “Hyperspectral remote sensing in geology“. In parallel Huaan Fan from KTH gave lectures at KSTU on “Math for geomatics“, “Basic concepts in theory of errors“, “Error propagation“, “Least squares adjustment“, “Least squares adjustment” and “Non-linear observation equations“.
- In Bishkek, two topics were explained: “Remote sensing Change detection for environment” by Professors Luis A. and Jesús Torralba from UPV, and “Interoperability in GIS, geospatial databases” by Professors Jernej Tekavec and Anka Lisec from UL. In parallel Huaan Fan from KTH taught “Geodetic gravimetry” and “Geodetic reference systems (GRS)“.
The total number of participants selected were:
- In Osh (20): 9 persons from OshTU, 3 persons from NUACA, 2 persons from ANAU and KSTU and 1 person from YSU. In addition, 2 technicians from the Miniter of Emergency Situations and the Director of LLC “Geocenter”.
- In Bishkek (23): 15 persons from KSTU, 3 persons from NUACA and ANAU, and 1 person from OshTU and YSU.
The Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Geographic Information Technologies (GIT) workshop in Stockholm was held on June 19-25, 2023. The workshop focused on several lectures on innovation and business models, several group works and Round Tables on university-industry cooperation in Armenia and Kyrgyzstan were held.
Specifically in the lectures were divided into two. First, professors Huaan Fan and Björn Berggren from KTH explained the following topics: “The knowledge triangle: education, research and innovation” and “Lectures on innovation and entrepreneurship“, respectively.
Wednesday began with a workshop on Innovation in geoinformation technology. In this workshop the following topics were discussed: “Fundamentals of building competitive and innovative ICT-centric ecosystems” by Carlos Machado from VUB, “Innovation-oriented higher education” and “Introduction to GIT entrepreneurship project work” by Professor Huaan Fan, from KTH, “Introduction to R+D+I programme Horizon Europe” by Professor Luis A. from UPV, “KTH’s experiences with industrial PhD studies” and “Survey and visualization of deformations of the Vasa Ship” by Milan Horemuz from KTH, and “University-industry cooperation in geoinformatics – projects and internships” by Professor Jonathan Chan from VUB.
A total of 20 participants were selected: 3 persons from NUACA, ANAU, YSU, OshTU, 8 persons from KSTU, 3 persons from NUACA, ANAU, YSU, KSTU and OshTU, 2 persons from Cadastre Committee of the Republic of Armenia, and 1 person from Ministry of Education of Armenia, Goscartography and from the Ministry of Education and Science of Kyrgyzstan.
In this task, each partner university has created interdisciplinary curricula in GIT at master and/or PhD level adapted to their needs, and developed course contents and teaching materials. The reform of curricula or creation of interdisciplinary doctorate per partner country university has focused in the application of new Geoinformation Technologies and modern equipment to the relevant research topics identified in WP1, integrating topics and involving external stakeholders from administration and industry in the definition of goals.
Curricula development:
- KSUCTA PhD Program “Geodesy and Geoinformation Technologies” (English, Russian and Teachers). KSUCTA PhD License (.pdf).
- KSMU PhD Programs: “Applied Geology” (English and Russian) and “Mining” (English and Russian). KSMU PhD License (.pdf).
- OshTU PhD Program “Cartography and Geoinformatics” (English and Russian). OshTU PhD License (.pdf).
- Joint Armenian Degree on Geoinformation Technology between ANAU, YSU and NUACA (.pdf).
Related activities:
- Inter-Project meeting between ARMDOCT and GeoTAK. The consortium members of Erasmus + ARMDOCT and GEOTAK projects co-funded by the EU met to discuss cooperation possibilities for the reform of Doctoral Education in Armenia and to strengthen the project outcomes on the national level. More News.
- Meeting in the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of Armenia with the Deputy Minister. More News.
On June 7 and 8, 2023, curriculum development and teaching material meetings were held in Bulan-Segettu (Cholponata), where professors from the universities of Armenia and Kyrgyzstan had the opportunity to present the new courses of the doctoral programs and received the comments and observations of the European partners. More News.
New course contents in GIS, applied photogrammetry, remote sensing, geodesy, 3D visualization, etc. are being developed. For each course, the following information is being included: course name, semester, ECTS, learning objectives, competencies, prerequisites, theoretical lessons, practical exercises and projects, bibliography and other sources, faculty, and other information required by the regulations of each university.
Course description (Syllabus):
KSUCTA (Geodesy and GeoInformation Technologies)
- Spatial Data Science (.pdf)
- Scientific Research Methodology and Methods (.pdf)
- Academic Writing and Communication (.pdf)
- History and Philosophy of Science – Scientometrics (.pdf)
- Pedagogy and psychology of high school (.pdf)
- Critical thinking and research (.pdf)
- Introduction to Geospatial Programming – Applied Mathematics and Statistics (.pdf)
- Coordinate Systems in Geodesy (.pdf)
- Advanced Geoinformation Technologies (.pdf)
- Integrated Positioning and Navigation – Physical Geodesy (.pdf)
- Remote Sensing Applications in Land and Environmental Management – Spatial Data Infrastructure (.pdf)
KSMU (Applied Geology)
- Spatial Data Science (.pdf)
- Scientific Research Methodology and Methods – Academic Writing and Communication (.pdf)
- History and Philosophy of Science – Scientometrics (.pdf)
- Modern Data Analysis Methods: Geostatistics, Neural Networks and Programming Basics (.pdf)
- Digital Technologies in Applied Geology: Modeling of Geological Objects and Processes (.pdf)
- Advanced Geoinformation Technologies in Geology (.pdf)
- Innovative Methods and Technologies in Search and Exploration of Mineral Resources
- Modern Methods and Technologies of Remote Sensing in Geology (.pdf)
KSMU (Mining)
- Spatial Data Science (.pdf)
- Scientific Research Methodology and Methods – Academic Writing and Communication (.pdf)
- History and Philosophy of Science – Scientometrics (.pdf)
- Introduction to Geospatial Programming – Applied Mathematics and Statistics (.pdf)
- Digital technologies in mine surveying: movement and deformation of rocks due to mining (.pdf)
- Advanced Geoinformation Technologies in Mining (.pdf)
- Perspective Geotechnologies for Open Pit Mining of Mineral Deposits (.pdf)
- Perspective Geotechnologies for Underground Mining of Mineral Deposits (.pdf)
OshTU (Cartography and GeoInformatics)
- Spatial Data Sciences (Data models, Data acquisition and integration) (.pdf)
- Research Methodology/Academic Writing and Communication (.pdf)
- History and philosophy of science (Patenting and protection of intellectual property) (.pdf)
- Spatial Analysis (.pdf)
- GIS and Data Visualization (.pdf)
- Advanced Remote Sensing (.pdf)
- Spatial Data Infrastructure (.pdf)
- Earth observation (.pdf)
- Positioning and navigation (.pdf)
- Geospatial BIG Data (.pdf)
NUACA (Joint PhD Program on Geoinformation Technology)
YSU (Joint PhD Program on Geoinformation Technology)
ANAU (Joint PhD Program on Geoinformation Technology)
A quality assurance plan was developed by VUB partner country institution with the participation and support of other national partners and EU universities. The purpose was to foster the sustainability of curricula developed with the engagement of social stakeholders.
During the third year of the project, similar monitoring visits and videoconferences will be done to monitor the activities of all partners.
Regular activities related to planning, implementation, evaluation and reporting between coordinator and partners will be continued for the rest of the project.
The project management committee held five meetings each year of the project. In order to be cost effective, they were programmed together with other activities of the project.
In the meetings, the leader of WP presents the reports of the work done; there is a discussion of activities, and a workplan of coming activities for next year is worked out.
Project Management Meeting Online (February 11 and 12, 2021)
Project Management Meeting Online (March 26, 2021)
Project Management Meeting Online (May 7, 2021):
Project Management Meeting Online (June 24, 2021):
Project Management Meeting Online (October 29, 2021):
Project Management Meeting Online (January 21, 2022):
Project Management Meeting in KSUCTA, Bishkek (March 26, 2022):
Project Management Meeting in UL, Ljubljana (June 14, 2022):
Project Management Meeting in NUACA, Yerevan (October 14, 2022):
Project Management Meeting in UPV, Valencia (November 29, 2022):
Project Management Meeting online (March 10, 2023):
Project Management Meeting in KTH, Stockholm (June 21, 2023):
Project Management Meeting online (October 20, 2023):
Since they are necessary for the correct evolution of the project, as well as to solve problems and uncertainties of partners, these meetings will be continued and programmed when necessary.
The Dissemination & Exploitation plan has been prepared.
In Armenia and Kyrgyzstan, local partners have held events or disseminated news to promote the GeoTAK project.
- Dissemination video and poster of the activities carried out in the framework of the GeoTAK project by the universities of KSUCTA, KSMU and OshTU on the Erasmus days.
- Visit to the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED). In this Center, the Armenian and Kyrgyz partners were able to see the work that CRED has been developing for more than 40 years in the fields of international disaster and conflict health studies, with activities linking relief, rehabilitation and development. CRED also had the opportunity to learn about the GeoTAK project so that joint activities can be developed in the future.
- The Cadastre Committee of the Republic of Armenia announces on its website its support for the pilot Ph.D. program in the field of Geographic Information Technologies with specializations “Geodesy, including cartography and cadastre” and “Geography” between three universities of Armenia: National University of Architecture and Construction of Armenia, Yerevan State University and National Agrarian University of Armenia.
- The GeoTAK project was presented at the Central Asia GIS Conference – GISCA 2023: “Geospatial approaches to understanding a changing world” in a special session. In this session, a member of each of the GeoTAK project partners presented different aspects of the project.
Maintenance of the websites and WhatsApp group until the end of the project and beyond, to support sustainability.
Publication of news related to project activities in Facebook:
- Technical training (6) in Kyrgyzstan on Environmental monitoring and risk control:
- Innovation and Entrepreneurship in GeoInformation Technology (GIT):
Organize meetings with stakeholders during the next activities in AR and KG in 2023. Promote industrial PhDs and internships.
The final dissemination conference will be held in Yerevan organised by NUACA and it will be open to society in general, and in particular:
- University staff and students
- GIT and related industry and professionals
- National agencies and administrations
- Mass media
The results of the project will be presented, enhancing the sustainability issues and potential benefits for society, trying to promote links and future collaborations between local and international stakeholders. Collaboration with other Erasmus Plus projects will be searched. This conference will be right after the Intl. Workshop 2.4, in order to attract more people and stakeholders and to bec ost-effective in the travel budget.
We plan to keep and even increase the contacts with Ministries and rectors, and even increase them. In addition, several workshops with stakeholders are already planned for 2023.