Strong earthquakes in Croatia

      Comments Off on Strong earthquakes in Croatia

Central Croatia has been hit with two strong earthquakes on December 28th (5.3 on Richter scale) and on December 29th (6.3 on Richter scale) creating massive destruction in towns of Petrinja, Sisak and Glina, and even some damage in 50 km distant Zagreb. The second earthquake shaking was registered in surrounding countries and even 1.000 km distant towns in central Italy.

The consequences of the devastating earthquake that hit central Croatia.

Faculty of Geodesy has engaged its capacities supporting the rescue and recovery activities. Already on December 30th, 2020 internet platform has been established together with Croatian OpenStreetMap community based on OpenStreetMap enabling people in need and those ready to help to exchange information and communicate what is necessary for people who lost their homes and how to deliver the goods to them.  Application is available via the links: https://potres2020.openit.hr/views/map.

Internet platform established together with the Croatian OpenStreetMap community (https://potres2020.openit.hr/views/map)

Also, on December 31st preliminary computation results of surface displacement based on radar interferometry using earth observation Copernicus Sentinel 1 satellite data have been presented indicating that surface on fault suffered shift which might be up to 30 cm. More about this information on link: Map of surface displacements obtained by satellite radar interferometry for Petrinja earthquake of magnitude 6.3. (source: Faculty of Geodesy)

BESTSDI Project Outcome Brochure

      Comments Off on BESTSDI Project Outcome Brochure

This brochure is a compilation of all the final achievements of BESTSDI project in which all project partners contribute to. The brochure presents the key project outcomes, quality improvements of higher education in Geographical Information Science and Technology, new and innovative education programme developments, lifelong learning courses, the partnerships with public authorities and business sector to develop the annual national SDI reports, the dissemination of project experiences and results.

BESTSDI & NatRisk Final Conference Press Release

      Comments Off on BESTSDI & NatRisk Final Conference Press Release

Western Balkans, adherent of advanced educational and economic practices

The final conference of the BESTSDI (Western Balkans Academic Education Evolution and Professional’s Sustainable Training for Spatial Data Infrastructures) and NatRisk (Development of Master Curricula for Natural Disasters Risk Management in the Western Balkan Countries) Projects was held on 4th September 2019, in Sarajevo, in the framework of Erasmus+ programme aimed at capacity building in the field of higher education, supported by the European Union.

This conference has brought together participants from the Western Balkan academic community, prestigious European universities, government and non-governmental sector, professionals in higher education and curriculum development, information and communication industries, security, as well as resource and risk management.

The conference was held in the University of Sarajevo Rectorate.

New curricula and study programmes

After three years of intensive BESTSDI project implementation, it can certainly be noted that the project has completely achieved all its objectives and prof. Željko Bačić, from the University of Zagreb takes pride in this fact as project coordinator.

“A high level of understanding of Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) concept has been reached among academic institutions and project partners who create different expert profiles, which has, furthermore, made possible the formulation of a new curriculum in the field of SDI and the implementation of SDI classes within 88 subjects at 16 faculties in the region. In addition to those faculties and universities, the economy will mostly benefit from this by getting new profiles of electronically literate experts – capable of developing applications with a modern understanding of the use of spatial data and interdisciplinary educated experts, who will understand the needs of other professions. Such experts will be able to rise to the challenges of current times, especially in terms of spatial management, climate change impact and society management in entirety, based on spatial data and geoinformatics. This is precisely why we organized a joint final conference of BESTSDI project and NatRisk project that developed a new curriculum for the Natural Disaster Management study “, said prof. Bačić.

European Union experts suggest that the economy based on the design of applications for the spatial data use and processing will develop to such an extent by 2030 that geoinformatics, with spatial data infrastructure as one of its bases, will become a new independent / standalone profession.

How to manage natural disasters?

Natural disasters have become a constant threat to the community and the environment as a whole. The damage they sometimes cause exceeds all preventive measures.

„We have witnessed that exposure to the impacts of natural disasters – droughts, floods, landslides, earthquakes – largely increased due to low level of knowledge about causes, mechanisms of action and manners of protection. Therefore, the objectives of NatRisk project are: development and implementation of master study programme in the Western Balkans in line with European standards, modernized laboratories for research in the field of natural disasters, mobility of students and teaching staff to learn about & adopt innovative methods in classes, development and conducting training for citizens and public sector in the field of natural disaster management. ” said prof. Milan Gocić from the University of Niš.

In addition to the training of teaching staff and students, four training manuals were created within the NatRisk project for civil sector training purposes in situations of natural disaster and 14 several-day trainings were held at Higher Education Institutions in the Western Balkans, where at approximately 500 participants from more than 150 institutions were trained.

Thanks to the participation in projects BESTSDI and NatRisk, with the support of European universities, the faculties/colleges of the Western Balkans have become leaders in the region when it comes to the scientific endeavors of this kind – much to the benefit of society as a whole, especially in terms of the development of electronic literacy in the adequate use of spatial data when managing space and natural resources.

(Nihad Penava)

BESTSDI and EuroSDR workshop: Academia-Business Cooperation Survey

      Comments Off on BESTSDI and EuroSDR workshop: Academia-Business Cooperation Survey

Joint workshop of BESTSDI and EuroSDR titled Academia-Business Cooperation Survey will be held together with BESTSDI Q12 final workshop on Tuesday, September 3, from 13:30 to 16:45 at the University of Sarajevo, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Patriotske lige 30.

Topics of the workshop include: Academia-Business cooperation survey, How should Academia-Business cooperation work from an entrepreneur perspective, Academia-Business-Government cooperation for NSDI development, How should Academia-Business cooperation work from an entrepreneur perspective, Academia-Business projects as drivers for cooperation fostering, View in the future – broader scope.