In 2017 ISPRS has introduced the Education and Capacity Building Initiatives to support projects of interest to the ISPRS community. Call are normally launched in autumn of oddly numbered  years. Details of the regulations can be found at http://www.isprs.org/documents/orangebook/app9b.aspx.

In accordance with the statutory mission and activities of ISPRS, the Society shall provide funds to support scientific and other initiatives, which will further improve its international status in the field of the photogrammetry, remote sensing and spatial information sciences, and will therefore benefit all ISPRS members. For 2022, the following four Educational and Capacity Building Initiatives projects were selected and approved by the Council for funding.

A Challenge-based Learning Framework Design and Practice for UAV Photogrammetry (CBL4UAV)

PI: Farzaneh Dadrass Javan and Francesco Nex, University of Twente, Netherlands
Co-Is: Bashar Alsadik and Luuk Buunk, University of Twente, Netherlands; Farhad Samadzadegan, University of Tehran, Iran; Omid Askari, Forecasting and Pest Control Management of Plant Protection Organization of Iran

The massive introduction of UAVs in our society has made these platforms and their data collection a very popular subject for education in a wide number of institutions (universities, life-long learning centers, applied-sciences, etc.) all over the World. Experts in agriculture, urban planning, mining, disaster management (just to give an example) are using UAV for data collection and information extraction: however, these professionals often operate without having any specific education in photogrammetry (and often without being aware of using it). Increasing the awareness for photogrammetry in these communities with some basic but essential concepts would be beneficial for its correct use. To be successful, these education modules would need to be embedded in an educational framework closer to their professional interests, different from traditional teaching methods. In this regard, Challenge Based Learning (CBL) looks a promising solution for this purpose as it can perfectly tailor the content for different backgrounds and needs. CBL is a collaborative learning experience where students and teachers work together to propose solutions to real-life problems, becoming a valid alternative for traditional education methods especially for students from other domains. This Educational and Capacity Building Initiative project aims at delivering guidelines on how to deliver UAV photogrammetry education in a Challenge-Based Learning framework for our community. The guidelines will be organized according to written texts, micro-lectures and webinars. In addition, the project will fine-tune this educational methodology on a real pilot course to point possible problems out in the early stage and give a practical example to our community.

Final Report »

Capacity Building for GIS-based SDG Indicator Analysis with Global High-resolution Land Cover Datasets

PI: Daniele Oxoli, Politecnico di Milano, Italy; Sheryl Rose Reyes, Manila Observatory, Geomatics for Environment and Development Laboratory, Philippines
Co-Is: Maria Antonia Brovelli, Politecnico di Milano, Italy; Serena Coetzee, University of Pretoria, South Africa; Ivana Ivanova, Curtin University, Australia; Darshana Rawal, Udine University, Italy; Giuseppina Vacca, University of Cagliari, Italy; Sisi Zlatanova, University of New South Wales, Built Environment, Red Centre Building, Australia

In the framework of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), the support of geospatial data and technologies has turned out to be critical for both the assessment and the monitoring of key indicators, revealing the trajectory of our planet and society towards sustainability. The increasing availability of global open geospatial datasets - above all the global high-resolution land cover datasets - opens newsworthy opportunities for the computation and comparison of these indicators across different geographical regions as well as multiple spatial and temporal scales. The added value of these datasets is tangible, especially for developing countries, where often such information is only partially available from local authorities. Nevertheless, there are still several barriers to their proficient use due to the lack of capacity in data management and processing using proper Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software tools. In view of the above, the Capacity Building for GIS-based SDG Indicator Analysis with Global High-resolution Land Cover Datasets project will address the creation of open training material (web-book and workshops) covering the complete learning process of discovering, accessing and manipulating global open geospatial datasets for computing SDG indicators, with a focus on those directly connected to marine and terrestrial ecosystems, urban environment, and climate. To ensure the widest possible accessibility, the material will primarily leverage the Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) QGIS and it will be released under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (CC BY 4.0).

Final Report »

Collaborative Analysis of Flooding Events with processing of Earth observation datasets

PIs: Nusret Demir, Akdeniz University, Turkey
Co-Is: Fulya Kandemir, Pınarbaşı Quart, Turkey; Dogushan Kılıç, University of Manchester, UK

This initiative will establish a network that gathers the researchers to study, collaborate, and provide impact. The establishment of the platform will start a common workshop to allow the people who will contribute in the platform’s potential content and to maintain sustainability. The workshop will gather MSc and PhD students to build and improve the general flood risk and assessment knowledge to be used as a guide and reference for any other flooding events. The case study will be Bozkurt (Kastamonu, Turkey) where the flood damaged the area largely and caused casualties in the region. During Bozkurt flood in August 2021, the region has been severely affected, hundreds lost their houses due to flood-triggered collapses and many more population in the area were affected due to property damage. The project will investigate and produce reasonable flood risk and assessment knowledge that can be used as a baseline for future events. The outcomes of the project will be beneficial to identifying the causes of the damages by the flood and its assessment. A better city planning by considering flood events is going to provide an improved life safety and social welfare. Besides, the flood may be better managed and controlled considering foreseeable risks.  As a further outcome of the project, a web portal will be established for maintaining sustainability to disseminate the recent methods for flood risk and damage assessment. The project also aims to enhance the networking and collaboration opportunities among the workshop participants to produce a significant impact on the scientific society.

Final Report »

InterACT - Multimedia-supporting materials for smart educational approaches in Geosciences: 360° interactive and enriched videos

PIs: Grazia Tucci, University of Florence, Italy
Co-Is: Valentina Bonora, University of Florence, Italy; Lidia Fiorini, Italy; Alessandro Conti, Italy; Erica Isabella Parisi, University of Florence, Italy; Anjana Vyas, CEPT University, India

The proposed project aims at developing and sharing multimedia contents for smart educational applications, exploiting innovative technologies to produce educational resources useful for training in Geospatial disciplines. The potential of alternative teaching approaches combined with new technologies to engage students and improve their perception of geosciences will be explored. Amongst multimedia resources, 360° videos have been selected as cost-effective, easy-to-use, flexible, and future-oriented tools to support and enhance the learning process by immersing in real-life scenarios. A series of 360° interactive videos, enriched with multimedia resources (texts, images, 2D videos, quizzes, etc.), will be produced on selected topics, usually covered during Geomatics teaching and training, i.e. integrated 3D survey techniques for built heritage documentation. The main objective is to transpose in a digital environment practical activities and experiences, usually performed on the field. The produced resources (interactive 360° videos) may be used in substitution of on-the-field activities or as preparatory materials before going onsite. The project mainly focuses on built heritage 3D documentation, risk assessment, conservation support, etc., but its outcomes can be easily applied in several contexts.

Final Report »