Geospatial Hungary - News in 2008

Goal is to provide more visibility on Hungarian developments, achievements, applications and services related to spatial data infrastructure with special emphasis on the European and Global context. HUNAGI's comprehensive News, Links and Visual Resources. Keywords: SDI, GI, GIS, Earth Observation, Satellite Navigation & Positioning, Remote Sensing, Knowledge Networking. News are shared with the Hungarian Coordination Office for UN Spatial Data Infrastructure

Thursday 26 June 2008

INSPIRE experts met in Maribor

Will come soon

Monday 23 June 2008

High profile discussion forum on strategies for logistics

Stefania Palace, the venue of the event. Image HUNAGI Visuals resource, 2008
Report with HUNAGI statement and some illustrations will be provided asap.

Tele Atlas applied for HUNAGI membership

Mag. Norbert Hackner-Jaklin, Sales Manager B2B CEE at Tele Atlas Österreich GmbH applied for HUNAGI membership today.
Welcome Tele Atlas, the digital map and dynamic content giant to the HUNAGI spatial data interest community 

Wednesday 18 June 2008

National Platform on Geoinformatics

Some of the participation of the National GI/GIS Platform arranged by Bonaventura Ltd, member of HUNAGI and HUNGIS Foundation. 

European Institute of Innovation and Technology in Budapest? Yes!

Today, Budapest has been approved as location of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology
For more information please visit the authentic website http://ec.europa.eu/eit/  Extract from this website as background information: "EIT : Mission and main features: Innovation is the key to growth, competitiveness and thus social well-being in the 21stcentury.The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) is a new initiative which aims to become a flagship for excellence in European innovation in order to face the challenges of globalisation.Although Europe already has excellent education and research institutions, their representatives are often isolated from the business world and do not obtain together the "critical mass" necessary for innovation.The EIT is the first European initiative to integrate fully the three sides of the "Knowledge Triangle" (Higher Education, Research, Business-Innovation) and will seek to stand out as a world-class innovation-orientated reference model, inspiring and driving change in existing education and research institutions.By boosting the EU's capacity to transform education and research results into tangible commercial innovation opportunities, the EIT will further bridge the innovation gap between the EU and its major international competitors.The EIT will favour sustainable economic growth and job creation throughout the Union by generating new products, services and markets responding both to public demand and to the needs of the knowledge economy.Based on partnerships known as “Knowledge and Innovation Communities” (KICs) – highly integrated public-private networks of universities, research organisations and businesses – the EIT's activities will be coordinated by a Governing Board ensuring its strategic management. Direct involvement of business stakeholders, including PMEs, in all strategic, operational and financial aspects of the Institute is the cornerstone of the initiative.The EIT : transforming innovative ideas into reality. Serving the EU’s strategic priorities  Operating across Europe, the KICs will be selected by the EIT Governing Board on a strategic basis as responses to the foremost challenges currently facing the Union. The first areas covered by the Institute are likely to include - amongst others - climate change, renewable energies and the next generation of information and communication technologies. The Governing Board will propose draft seven-year "Strategic Innovation Agendas" (SIA) outlining the EIT's long-term priorities and financial needs. The first SIA will be presented by the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament by 2011 at the latest.Connecting European business and researchBusinesses stand to gain as they will be given fresh opportunities to commercialise the most up-to-date and relevant research findings, potentially giving Europe first-mover advantage in the latest technological fields. In return, research organisations will benefit from additional resources, an enhanced networking capacity and new research perspectives stressing interdisciplinary approaches in areas with strong societal and economic importance.Higher education and the EIT : a new approach to learningUntil now, higher education has notoriously been the absent member of innovation partnerships. However, new skills and talents will be crucial to the concrete exploitation of Europe's innovation potential and the EIT will advocate the change of mindset required to make this possible. Participating higher education institutions will offer prestigious Masters and PhD degrees which will be encouraged to bear the "EIT" label in order to reflect their high quality and innovative character. Business partners will benefit directly from new education programmes integrating entrepreneurship, innovation and risk management as core modules.An incremental development pathThe EIT represents a novel approach to innovation at the EU level. For this reason it needs to be set up gradually, based on a phased implementation in view of its long-term development perspectives. During the first phase, two or three KICs will be established. Subsequent partnerships will follow after the adoption of the first Strategic Innovation Agenda.Leverage for businessesAn initial Community budget contribution of over EUR 300 million will help to launch the EIT during the 2008-2013 period and will provide the support structure and the conditions necessary for integrated knowledge transfer and networking. In turn, in order to profit from the considerable returns which the initiative is likely to generate, businesses will be expected to buy into the EIT and be willing to lead the way in the unleashing of Europe's innovation potential."

Monday 9 June 2008

IYPE Hungarian National Committee Meeting

The building of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Image: HUNAGI Visuals resource, 2008
The interdisciplinary Hungarian IYPE Committee met to evaluate of the National Opening Event of the International Year of the Planet Earth today. Chaired by Dr. Károly Brezsnyánszky, the Committee discussed the follow-on actions including important international and domestic conferences such as the HUNGEO (ELTE, Budapest, last week of August), as well as the joint event of the IYPE and the Year of the Bible (Sopron, October 16-18, 2008). The recommendation of  HUNAGI representative to consider to take part on the Digital Earth Summit hosted by the GFZ in Potsdam by a HAS delegation under the aegis of IYPE was unanimously  together with the idea to integrate the anticipated  FAO/CEN/ISO conference to be held in Budapest in December in the series of the IYPE programmes.