Research IT

Connecting the GIS, Mapping & Earth Observation Community

We are happy to report that during its first community event, the GISMEO community has already produced new connections and opportunities for its members.

A wide range of researchers from departments such as the Department of Mathematics, the Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute (HCRI), the Department of Computer Science, the Department of Geography, and the University of Manchester Library, attended the first virtual meeting of the GISMEO community on July 24, 2024.

At the meeting the following opportunities were identified by members:

  • Cross faculty members of GISMEO are invited to attend the Radar opportunities and strategy sandpit at Jodrell Bank on 14 August 2024.
  • Library staff are now connected to the Pure support team to work collaboratively on providing an equipment and facilities Pure entry to promote the Library Map Room and interactive facilities.
  • Members of HCRI will promote the new GISMEO drop-in sessions to support GIS research and teaching for the new academic year.

Dr. Gail Millin-Chalabi began the event by explaining the Computation and Data in Research community (CaDiR) and the vision for the GISMEO Community. This was followed by introductions of the group leaders of each geospatial area:

  • Geographical Information Systems – Dr. Gail Millin-Chalabi
  • Mapping – Ms. Donna Sherman
  • Earth Observation – Dr. Polyanna Bispo

For those who could not attend here is a link to the meeting recording.

Ways that you can get involved in GISMEO

  • If you haven’t already done so, please join the community on CaDiR today! And promote GISMEO to staff and students.
  • When you join the CaDiR Teams space, you will notice a folder named GIS, Mapping and Earth Observation this is referred to as the GISMEO channel, in here we have created tabs to organise community content.
  • The default tab is Posts, please use the Posts tab to discuss geospatial matters at any time; there is no need to wait for the next community event to talk.
  • We are always looking for suggestions for speakers to attend community events, as any spring to mind, please add them to the GISMEO Speaker Suggestions tab.
  • Suggest events and training by raising a task in the Brainstorming Ideas tab, assign the new task to the appropriate leader, Gail Millin-Chalabi (GIS), Donna Sherman (Mapping) or Polyanna Bispo (EO) to be actioned.
  • Volunteer to be a member of the GISMEO steering group by 30 August 2024 (please email the community leaders to express your interest).

GISMEO drop-ins to commence in September 2024

GISMEO will launch one-hour drop-in sessions from September 2024, these will be advertised on the GISMEO Calendar tab within the GISMEO Teams channel. They will be delivered via Zoom (preferred for its waiting room feature) and will take place on Wednesday afternoons from 14:00 to 15:00. There will be one drop-in per month for each geospatial area (GIS, Mapping, and Earth Observation), making a total of three drop-ins per month. Please promote this support opportunity during the Start of Year (SoY), as well as in your academic modules, cultural, support, and technical areas.

Don’t miss out on the geospatial conversation join the GISMEO Community today!

Many thanks,

Gail, Donna and Polyanna – GISMEO Community Leads