Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation for Applied Earth Sciences: A case of curriculum renewal at ITC (Netherlands) and Gadjah Mada University (Indonesia)

Not only recent developments in geo-information technology, but also the development of the application fields and the demands of society, require any curriculum in GIS and remote sensing to be under constant review and incorporate new developments. Moreover, global partnerships in joint courses supported by electronic communication open the possibility to combine curricula with common course elements, and work towards exchange of students and double logo/double degree qualifications.

In a month from now, a new MSc curriculum in Applied Earth Sciences (AES) will start at ITC (Enschede, the Netherlands) with four streams of specialisation (Geo-hazards, Geoengineering, Earth Resources Exploration, and Earth Science Data Provision). At the same time the Faculty of Geography together with the Research Center for Disaster of the Gadjah Mada University (Yogjakarta, Indonesia), launches a new postgraduate program in Geo-information for Disaster Management. Both curricula have been developed independently in the respective academic Institutions, while mutual exchange of experts has contributed towards the design at both locations, and recent developments have triggered the initiative to come to a joint MSc programme with double degree.