contentMain FeaturesOpening Academic Year 2007-2008 2- Opening Speech 4- Twente University 5- Student Association Board 6- Klaas Jan Beek Award 6- Research Award 7- Schermerhorn Lecture 8

Highlights student introduction week 10ITC International Hotel 12

Project NewsDesign Methods forSustainable SDI 15The Beskyd Railway Tunnel 16

Partnership NewsITC/Ardhi University StaffExchange Programme 18UCLAS Becomes Ardhi Univeristy19

Education NewsUse of GIS and RS in Disaster Management 20Urban Environmental Planning and Management 21

EventsGeospatial Technology Exhibition in Indonesia 23ESRI East Africa User Conference 23International RS Meeting inArgentina 24ITC Students Awarded at World Habitat Day 24

Staff newsMenno-Jan Kraak Vice-President ICA 26Welcome / leaving ITC 26

Life after ITCGreeting from Saut Sagala 27Alumni Gathering Burkina Faso 27Alumni Gathering Turkey 28

1ITC News 2007-3

I N T R O

2007number 3

September 27 saw the official opening of the new academic year 2007-2008 (see pages 2-9). Hard to believe but, yes, another year has passed.Time is often proclaimed an enemy, but could it actually be a friend? Notonly was ITC delighted to welcome Professor Salomon Kroonenberg of DelftUniversity of Technology to deliver the Schermerhorn Lecture, but theInstitute’s guests, staff and students were more than eager to hear his viewson global warming set within a timescale far wider than is normally thecase. Ten thousand years was the period mentioned, and to assist those ofhis listeners who had some difficulty in conceiving such a time span, he de-scribed The Clock of the Long Now, the mighty timepiece that will peace-fully tick away the days, years, centuries and millennia for the next 10,000years. Obviously this new technology is built to last!

Another speaker on the programme was Ms Sibonile Sibanda, who on be-half of the Student Association Board welcomed the newly arrived studentsto ITC. She mentioned that ITC had “earned a few choice nicknames overthe years” owing to the heavy workload imposed on hard-pressed students.Reference has been made to this in the past, but so far no student - at leastto my knowledge - has ever resorted to tunnelling out of the Institute.Nevertheless, valuable experience in this field has recently been acquired byITC and “can be transferred to the students” (see page 16). Should youwish to ensure the safe receipt of ITC News, however, it may be better tosimply rely on the regenerative properties of kiwis (page 14) in times ofstress.

Ardhi University certainly receives some coverage in this issue (pages 18, 19,and 21), which gives you the opportunity to catch up on progress in Dar esSalaam, Tanzania. Naturally you will also find articles reflecting the Institute’sactivities in other corners of the globe. Given the nature of ITC, could youexpect otherwise? Whether the contributions appearing on the followingpages report on events in your own neck of the woods or on the far side ofthe world, as always we sincerely hope they will prove enjoyable reading.

Janneke KalfManaging Editor

introduction

Managing Editor: Janneke Kalf

Editing: Janice CollinsDesign&PrePress: Henk Scharrenborg

(Composer DTP service)Andries Menning

Printing: PlantijnCasparie Zwolle

Correspondence to: Managing EditorITC NEWSP.O.Box 6

7500 AA EnschedePhone: +31 (0)53 487 44 11Fax: +31 (0)53 487 45 54E-mail: itcnews@itc.nl

colofonITC NEWS is published quarterly, by ITC, Enschede, the Netherlands

The views expressed by the contributors do not necessarily reflect those of ITC

Enschede is a city

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As restoration work on the lofty tower wasin progress on Thursday, 27 September, theITC academic year was officially opened inthe impressive Jacobuskerk across the way.No complaints concerning change of venuecould be heard as the powerful music of or-ganist Mr Gijs van Schoonhoven ushered vis-itors into the beautiful interior and theymade their way down the aisles to take theirplaces on the pews.

Taking his position on the podium, RectorMartien Molenaar welcomed the ambassa-dor of Sri Lanka; Professor Zijm, RectorMagnificus of the University of Twente; Ms Koomen, councillor of the Municipalityof Enschede with the portfolio for labourand income; Dr Frits Brouwer, director of theRoyal Netherlands Meteorological Institute(KNMI); Ms Temmink, secretary of the Boardof the Saxion Universities of ProfessionalEducation; Mr Barnasconi of the Board of

the Netherlands Cadastre; and members ofthe ITC Board of Supervisors. And naturallyan especially warm welcome went to bothspecial guest Professor Salomon Kroonenbergof Delft University of Technology, who wasto deliver the Schermerhorn Lecture, and tothe new students. “I welcome the 238 newstudents who arrived this week from 51countries. They join the 200 students whocame last year and earlier this year, as well asthe 90 PhD students who are doing theirdoctoral research. The new participants ofour MSc programme are the first studentswho will experience our new course struc-ture, which means for the last nine monthsof their course they will become members ofone of our research teams consisting of staffand PhD students.”

In his opening address, Professor Molenaarset the tone for the proceedings of the firsthalf of the programme. Professor Henk Zijm,Rector Magnificus of the University ofTwente, then picked up the baton, followedby Ms Sibonile Sibanda, who welcomed thenew students on behalf of the StudentAssociation Board. As Women’s Commis -sioner, she felt her speech would not becomplete without a special word to thewomen among them: “Someone once saidthat ‘whatever women do they must dotwice as well as men to be thought half asgood’. It’s true, but I’m here to tell you thatit’s really not that difficult. Just rememberthat to have made it thus far, you haveshown that you have the strength, will andcourage it takes to achieve more and tohave it all.” Her remarks were well receivedby both the women and the men in the au-dience, which bodes well for a stimulatingacademic year ahead. Two pleasant dutiesnow awaited the rector of ITC: the presenta-

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Opening Academic Year2007-2008

Janice Collins itcnews@itc.nl

M A I N F E A T U R E S

The ITC academic year was officially opened in the impressive Jacobuskerk

tion of the Klaas Jan Beek Award 2007 tothe writer of the best MSc thesis and thepresentation of the PhD Research Award2007 to the writer of the best scientificpaper. Awards are happy occasions for pre-senters and recipients alike, and in these in-stances the certificates were accompaniedby cheques and flowers.

Now that the business of the first half of theprogramme had been completed, it wastime to sit back and enjoy a delightful musi-cal interlude. The Jacobuskerk provided anatmospheric setting for Ms Janne-Minke Nijpon harp and Ms Féminique van Oosterwijkon flute as they performed Elfenreigen byWilly Hess and Entre’act by Jacques Ibert - aperformance that received a resoundinground of applause from an appreciative au-dience.

Duly refreshed, all eyes and ears turned withinterest towards the new speaker who hadmounted the podium: Professor SalomonKroonenberg of Delft University of Technol -ogy, who would present the SchermerhornLecture, traditionally the first lecture of thenew academic year. No doubt in many quar-ters his reputation had preceded him, as hisbook De Menselijke Maat: De Aarde overTienduizend Jaar (The Human Scale: TheEarth over Ten Thousand Years) had createdquite a furore on its publication in 2006.

3ITC News 2007-3

The Sri Lankan ITC student community welcomes the ambassador of Sri Linka H.E. Mrs Pamela Deen (left)

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Opening SpeechRector Martien Molenaar Professor Molenaar opened by saying thatthe new students would be joining not onlyITC but also the worldwide ITC communityconsisting of some 19,000 alumni. This is aglobal knowledge community concernedwith geo-information science and earth ob-servation, but other knowledge communitieshave developed over the last decades andProfessor Molenaar went on to mentionthree. “First, the sustainable development ofour living environment requires the under-standing and management of processes atscales ranging from local to global level. Justthink of the increasing global demand forfood, water and energy, of the rapid spreadof epidemics, of urbanisation and migration,and of course of climate change. The man-agement of these problems requires the in-volvement of all nations, with the support ofa global scientific community. Second, withthe globalisation of the economy we see thedevelopment of global delivery chains ofproducts and services. North, South, Eastand West are involved in these chains, whichrequire a common understanding of thespecifications and conditions for proceduresand methods for product and service deliv-ery. This common understanding should de-velop through joint involvement in a globalresearch and development community.Third, most national economies are not ableto support high-level involvement in the fullrange of modern research sectors. Nationaland regional priorities have to be set. InEurope - but also worldwide - we will see anincreasingly regional distribution of focal do-mains for research and for higher educa-tion.”

Professor Molenaar said that many countriesencountered great problems in the currentprocess of globalisation, often lacking thegovernmental, economic and educationalstrength to keep pace with these develop-ments. They often needed support for ca-pacity development for both their higher education sector and the professional organ-isations in the public and private sectors.However, “this is the domain,” saidProfessor Molenaar, “where the Dutch insti-tutes for international education have beenactive for more than 55 years - and withgreat success!”

The main objective of capacity developmentwas to strengthen the national economies ofthese countries - and this is still an importantobjective. “But the problems facing us andour children and grandchildren are not justeconomic problems; they concern muchwider aspects of the quality of life.Therefore, capacity building should also aimat the development of global knowledgecommunities to make sure that every coun-try can contribute to the management ofthese problems.”

Turning now to the deepening relationshipwith the University of Twente, ProfessorMolenaar said that, since the signing lastyear of the Letter of Intent to integrate ITCinto the University, much hard work hadbeen devoted to elaborating an appropriatemodel and considerable progress had beenmade. The actual integration is expected totake effect from 1 January 2010, when “ITC,that is the whole organisation with its pres-ent tasks and its present academic profile,will become a university faculty with specialstatus” - a special status reflecting ITC’s ODAmission. Dutch universities are developingtheir international profiles, while ITC’s part-ners abroad increasingly prefer to cooperatewith universities since their status is clear -consequently, integration is of mutual bene-fit, and moreover, it offers exciting

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Professor Martien Molenaar

prospects. “The present community involvedwith geo-information provisions and earthobservation is highly mobile and diverse. Ourfield has become highly dynamic and multi-faceted, but we are dealing now with prob-lems of a much wider scope than can beprovided for by the disciplines at ITC alone.Integration in a university will give us accessto other disciplines required for these newproblem areas.”

Finally, Professor Molenaar directed his at-tention to the bigger picture in terms of in-ternational cooperation and higher educa-tion. Over the last 20 years, the emphasis inthe domain of ITC has changed from datacapture to data management, and changeand development have become an ongoingprocess. “The knowledge of newly educatedacademics is outdated within five to eightyears, and they should be re-educated aboutthree to four times during their careers.Most countries do not have the capacity toeducate enough young people; they certainlydo not have the capacity to retrain their aca-demics and professionals several times dur-ing their careers. North-South support willbe required for a long time to come.”

Professor Henk Zijm,Rector Magnificus University of TwenteWelcoming the new students, Professor Zijmsaid the future for ITC looked extremely in-teresting to say the least. Not only had thesubject of “sustainability” finally arrived onthe agenda of scientists and some politi-cians, but the message that urgent action isneeded had reached a much wider public -thanks in no small measure to Al Gore’s filmAn Inconvenient Truth. This deepenedawareness was of the utmost importance forthe domain of geo-information science andearth observation: the techniques in thesefields were the first requisite when it cameto establishing sound policy or future strat-egy to handle such issues as climate change,energy consumption, the reduction of car-bon-dioxide emissions, water managementand the consequences of natural disasters.

Referring to the future integration of ITCwith the University of Twente, Professor Zijmsaid that, while ITC’s teaching programmecovered a wide range of levels, from basic

vocational education, to training of mid-ca-reer professionals, to academic master pro-grammes, classical universities generally pro-vided only academic teaching and researchprogrammes, albeit over a much broaderrange. “But this, of course, offers plenty ofopportunities for cooperation […].” He alsobelieved that, while it was naturally impor-tant that the strong position ITC holds in de-veloping countries be fully maintained, “ITCshould also have the opportunity to carryout research projects in nearby countries,certainly also in the Netherlands, given notonly its considerable expertise in fields suchas geo-information management but alsothe fact that research attention is shiftingmore and more from the technical side to-wards the application domains.” Towardsthe end of the 20th century, the Netherlandssaw two major river floods, leading at leastin one case to the evacuation of people andcattle. Naturally, this had re-ignited the de-bate on creating areas to capture floodwaterin such circumstances, and Professor Zijmfelt that “ITC’s knowledge base might playan indispensable role in developing soundprotection policies”.

In closing, Professor Zijm wished ITC and allits staff and students a highly successful andvery prosperous new academic year - afterall, there is “a world to win”!

5ITC News 2007-3

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Professor Henk Zijm

Student Association BoardSpeaking on behalf of the StudentAssociation Board, the Women’s Commis -sioner, Ms Sibonile Sibanda, said that thisoccasion marked not only the official open-ing of another academic year, but also al-lowed “us to take time to welcome thenewest members of ITC. So, on behalf of thestudent body, I would like to extend a heart-felt welcome to you all, to the Netherlands,to Enschede and to ITC, which for the next12 to 18 months will be your home awayfrom home.”

Ms Sibanda said that preparing this addresshad given her time to reflect on what hadbeen a long, demanding but rewarding roadover the past 12 months and she wished totake this opportunity to share some experi-ences with the newcomers and perhaps givethem a glimpse of what student life at ITCmay hold in store. She started with the aca-demic side of the coin, which she referred toas “very tough and strenuous” and whichhad earned a few choice nicknames over theyears: “I’m not here to dispel these rumours,but I will say this: do not be intimidated butrather be challenged. ITC is an institutionfounded on academic excellence, and withexcellence comes standards and a certainlevel of expectations that we all have a dutyto uphold through diligence and hardwork.” Many men and women have toiled,struggled and burnt the midnight oil in timespast, but what do they now remember?

Success: “and it is all that you too will re-member years from now.” It is only“through hard work and perseverance that atrue master is made”.

However, there is a lighter side. ITC showsthat the world is not as big as often be-lieved, and the cultural exchange, togetherwith various functions and activities, trans-ports its students to the four corners of theglobe, introducing them to some exquisitecuisine, and awarding “each and every oneof us a chance to showcase our countries,and tell of our heritage and traditions, forwe come here not only as individuals seek-ing to advance academically, but as ambas-sadors of the proud nations we have left be-hind”.

“When things get monotonous and over-bearing - which I assure you they will fromtime to time - it’s just a matter of packing alight bag and hitting the road. Travelling hasopened our eyes to some of Europe’s mostbreathtaking scenery and ancient cities. Butyou never travel alone […] though we likeyourselves left many loved ones behind, wehave made new ties, new families, newfriends.” And so Ms Sibanda once againwarmly the new students to “a mini-UnitedNations”.

Klaas Jan Beek Award 2007The Klaas Jan Beek Award is granted annu-ally to the best ITC MSc thesis, and the crite-ria applied in determining the winning workare stringent indeed. The thesis must haveearned a grade of at least 80, with the over-all grade for all course modules likewisebeing at least 80. There should have beenno extension to the total MSc study periodof 18 months and the thesis itself shouldhave been completed in a period of sixmonths. Moreover, the thesis should demon-strate proper use of state-of-the-art geo-in-formation science and/or earth observationmethods and have a well-defined scientificfocus. Selected MSc students give a presen-tation on MSc Day, when a jury consisting ofITC senior scientists and PhD students drawup a short list for submission to the externalmembers of the Scientific Council. Then afinal decision is made.

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Ms Sibonile Sibanda

Having clarified these aspects, it was thepleasant duty of Professor Molenaar to invitethis year’s winner, Mr Ephrem KinfeTesfamariam of Ethiopia, to come forward toreceive the 2007 Award from Professor KlaasJan Beek for his thesis entitled Deriving rocksurface roughness from 3D laser scan pointcloud data. As the applause died away,Professor Molenaar took the opportunity toexplain in more detail the research carriedout. “Ephrem conducted a study based onremote sensing to determine the roughnessof rock joints. He developed a method usinga new remote sensing technique called 3Dterrestrial laser scanning. With a 3D laserscanner, you can measure the geometry ofthe rock slope with very high precision andwith considerable detail from a large dis-tance. Even small details such as roughnesscan be seen in the 3D laser scan data. Thelaser scanner generates what is called ‘a 3Dpoint cloud’, which can consist of millions ofdata points. Ephrem was able to quantifythe rock surface roughness by using thesepoint cloud data. He translated the rough-ness to qualitative parameters that could becompared with conventional manual meas-urements.”

No doubt on many an occasion MrTesfamariam had burnt the notorious mid-night oil mentioned by Ms Sibanda of theStudent Association Board, but the outcometoo had been as she had predicted: success.As Professor Molenaar explained: “Ephremdemonstrated an ability to solve some verycomplex mathematical and data processing

problems, while at the same time being ableto verify the results through a thorough fieldcampaign. Ephrem’s supervisors were im-pressed by his independent and pragmaticapproach, which resulted in an excellentpiece of research.”

The warm reception from the floor showedthat the audience were likewise impressed,and no doubt many among the new stu-dents were already fired to achieve similarresults.

ITC Research Award 2007The Academic Board of ITC had decided thata yearly award should be given to the bestscientific paper written by an ITC PhD stu-dent while he or she was enrolled as a grad-uate student at the Institute. This then wasthe first outing of the new award. Probablybecause of the short notice and the strictregulations applicable, only six nominationshad been received. Of these, five paperswritten by four (first) authors were deemedeligible. One of the papers nominated hadbeen written by a staff PhD candidate and,although accepted this time round, morestringent rules will apply in future. The threemost important award criteria are scientificlevel, innovation and practical significance,and the jury that had deliberated on theseaspects this year consisted of Professor Annevan der Veen, Professor Alfred Stein,Professor Victor Jetten and Mr Shi Pu (on be-half of the ITC graduate student commu-nity).

Professor Molenaar said that innovation hadturned out to be the decisive factor in thedifficult task of selecting a winner, andbreaking new ground for future research ofhigh societal importance had been re-warded. It may not always be possible to fol-low up on all the new leads stemming fromnew ideas and thus ensure that the pub-lished research is complete and free of looseends. However, this means that opportuni-ties are given to others to extend and tie upthose ends. With this he invited Mr WuGuofeng, as first author of the paperConcurrent monitoring of vessels and waterturbidity enhances the strength of evidencein remotely sensed dredging impact assess-ment, to come forward and receive the

7ITC News 2007-3

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Professor Klaas Jan Beek (left) and Mr Ephrem KinfeTesfamariam

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award. The paper has been published in thejournal Water Research and the other con-tributing authors are Jan de Leeuw, AndrewSkidmore, Herbert Prins and Liu Yaolin.

Professor Molenaar went on to say that:“The jury is convinced that the paper onmonitoring natural suspended sedimentloads, together with human dredging activi-ties, deserves the first ITC Research Award. Itis a paper of high scientific quality; it is inno-vative and creative, and invites others to fol-low its path. It is considered to be of highsocietal relevance in the light of the contro-versy on the Three Gorges Dam project inthe Yangtze River. The jury expresses itshope that this award will inspire other re-searchers to extend and follow up on thisand other research themes, and expectsmany more nominations for next year’saward.”

Schermerhorn LectureProfessor Salomon Kroonenberg‘Imaging the Earth: 10,000 years from now’It is undeniable that Al Gore’s film documen-tary An Inconvenient Truth, which hit cinemascreens in 2006, brought the subject ofglobal warming well and truly to the fore.Who could forget the striking poster of pen-guins ploughing their way through thedesert? And the award of the prestigiousNobel Peace Prize also constituted a seal ofapproval. So, done and dusted, nothingmore to be said? Well, actually, quite a lot.

Professor Kroonenberg takes a far more op-timistic view of the situation: “The climate isalmost constant, and yet we are afraid that acentury from now it will be a degreewarmer. The sea level is barely rising anymore, yet we act as if it were life-threaten-ing. We have become worriers, racked by asense of guilt.” In his lecture, he suggestedthat we were being rather short-sighted inour views and, instead of restricting our pre-dictions to 2100, as is often the case in cli-mate and environmental publications, weshould look at the Earth 10,000 years fromnow, when we could be heading for a newIce Age. “Perhaps in four hundred genera-tions, the people may well appreciate all thatcarbon dioxide we’re sending into the at-mosphere.” And when you think that in theJurassic and Cretaceous periods there was10 to 20 times as much CO2 in the atmos-phere as there is now, it seems that nothingis new for the Earth, only for us.

As a geologist, Professor Kroonenberg iswell accustomed to looking at extensive timeframes, and he supplied a variety of statisticsand graphs relating to the past 10,000 yearsto illustrate and support his arguments, in-cluding the infamous “hockey stick”, whichat the time of its conception severely dentedopinions on the dangers of global warming.According to Professor Kroonenberg, in-stances in history graphically demonstratedthe ability and flexibility of human beings, aswell as birds, animals and vegetation, to re-spond to conditions and adapt, migrate andultimately survive. Consequently, while heapplauded efforts to conserve and preservethe Earth’s resources, he did not feel theneed to continually warn of an approachingapocalypse and the demise of humankind:“There are already enough who do that andusually, as the Earth has taught us, withoutjustification. On the contrary, it is my con-tention that humans can adjust well towarmer or colder climates, or higher orlower sea levels.”

So what general lessons may be learnt here?We should not measure nature only at thehuman scale, but also at the scale of natureitself. As climate always changes - evenwithout human interference - it is better forhuman beings to adapt themselves, instead

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Rector Martien Molenaar and Mr Wu Guofeng

of pretending that humankind can controlclimate to its liking. And ITC has a role toplay: by providing time series of past changefrom imagery and proxies for longer timescales; by real-time monitoring of earthprocesses (sea level, el Niño, coasts, floods,uplift); and by producing model scenarios forthe future, based on past and real-time geo-data. After all, when you know the longterm, you can also make better decisions forthe short term.

With enthusiasm and humour, the first lec-ture of the new academic year delivered seri-ous messages seen with a fresh eye.Professor Kroonberg sent his listeners, andparticularly the newly arrived student cohort,on their way not only aware of the value ofthe academic discipline of critical observa-tion but also with sufficient ammunition tofuel debate for the entire year ahead. Andwhoever is scheduled to present the secondlecture in the coming weeks faces quite achallenge!

ConclusionA somewhat chill wind whipped across thesquare as guests, visitors, students and staff,

well minded to accept the invitation ofProfessor Molenaar, charted a course for thereception at the Twentse Schouwburg. Itgave pause for thought. Perhaps the next IceAge cometh already? Still, for the momentat least, the warming properties of the re-freshments on offer would drive thisthought into the background.

9ITC News 2007-3

M A I N F E A T U R E S

Full professor of geology at the Department of Geotechnology, Delft University ofTechnology, Professor Salomon Kroonenberg is currently leading a team of earthscientists involved in quantitative geological modelling of the subsurface. He seeshimself as a generalist, with broad experience in various fields of earth sciences,including metamorphic petrology, volcanology, remote sensing, geomorphology,Quaternary geology, soil science, geochemistry, and sedimentology in terrainsranging in age from Precambrian to Quaternary. His present research interest fo-cuses on the effect of sea-level changes on sedimentary systems, notably in theCaspian area, because sea-level changes in the Caspian take place at a rate onehundred times as fast as that in the oceans. The Delft team uses these data to val-idate numerical simulation models of coastal response to global sea-level changeand to improve understanding of the 3D sedimentary architecture of oil, gas andgroundwater reservoirs in the subsurface. On a more general level, ProfessorKroonenberg is deeply interested in the strain relation between humankind andgeological time.

Salomon Kroonenberg graduated in physical geography at the University ofAmsterdam and obtained his PhD at the same university in 1976, the title of hisdissertation being Amphibolite-Facies and Granulite-Facies Metamorphism in theCoeroeni-Lucie Area, Southwestern Surinam. He was employed at the Geologicaland Mining Service of Suriname from 1972 to 1978, at the University College ofSwaziland from 1978 to 1979, and at the Centro Interamericano deFotointerpretación in Bogota, Colombia, from 1979 to 1982. He was full professorof geology and mineralogy at Wageningen Agricultural University from 1982 to1996, after which he was appointed to his present position

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M A I N F E A T U R E S

Dutch traffic: theory and learning how to cycle

Registration

Twente excursion

ITC News

HighlightsHighlightsstudent introduction week 20

M A I N F E A T U R E S

Dinner in the ITC restaurant. ITC staff help to prepare and serve a Dutch meal

Opening ceremony of the academic year 2007-2008

Welcome and city tour hosted by the Municipality of Enschede

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The ITC International Hotel (IIH), the sub-sidiary fully owned by ITC, has been chargedwith the task of ensuring that students areproperly served. With growing student num-bers, increased mobility in terms of arrivaland departure dates, and greater variety inindividual requirements, this is no easy task.

Since 1972, the IIH (formerly known as DISH)has accommodated the students on the first10 floors of a 14-floor hotel on Boulevard1945, with a total of some 237 single rooms(with communal kitchens) and 13 apart-ments. Because of growing student numbersat the end of the 1980s, the IIH had to rentthe Stadsweide apartment block across thestreet from the hotel, with 54 two-room,three-room and four-room apartments. Inaddition, the IIH rented some 50 roomsspread across Enschede, bringing the total inthe mid-1990s to some 370 rooms andapartments, with a capacity for 440 people.

In 2006, the 50 or so rooms spread acrossEnschede were replaced by a single apart-ment block with 100 brand-new apart-ments. This was located in Dr Benthemstraat(very convenient for the ITC building) andknown as the Plein van Arke.

To ensure the long-term use of theStadsweide apartment block for the growingPhD community and their families, ITC ac-quired these premises in June 2007, afterhaving rented them for almost 20 years. Thismeans the necessary renovations can nowbe started, and these will be carried out inthe course of 2007 and 2008.

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ITC International Hotel:

Coping with ChangingRequirements

IIH Management hotel@itc.nl

The ITC Hotel anno 2007 (picture © Gerard Kusters)

Plein van Arke

Stadsweide

Simultaneously, agreement has beenreached to transfer two more floors (floors11 and 12) of the hotel block on Boulevard1945 to the IIH. Urgent renovations to therooms are currently being carried out andfour new communal kitchens are being con-structed, ready for the start of the academicyear in September 2007.

These changes have brought the total cur-rent hotel accommodation to 473 roomsand apartments, with the capacity to accom-modate 543 people. With these measures,the IIH hopes, as far as numbers are con-cerned, to have ensured accommodation forthe student and PhD community for thelonger term.

However, adjustments are not only requiredin terms of numbers of rooms and apart-ments. Unlike in the past when studentsused to arrive in large groups at one or twospecific periods in a calendar year, the in-creasing variety of ITC’s training and educa-tion has resulted in increasing mobilitythroughout the year. This in turn has meantthe need to upgrade reservation capacity, ex-tend reception opening hours to 24 hours aday, and upgrade cleaning and upkeep todeal with irregular occupation.

We have also noticed an increase in individ-ual requirements. An internet café was in-stalled some years ago to accommodate thewish to be online 24 hours a day, seven daysa week. Since then, an increasing number ofstudents have been bringing their own per-sonal computer equipment, which has ledthe IIH management to install (free) internetconnections in all rooms and apartments.

To deal with all these changes, a dedicatedcrew is required. The IIH staff consists of asmall committed team that knows how toservice a truly international group of guests.Although the front office (reception) person-nel are best known to current and formerITC students, the back office personnelmake sure that the facilities are serviced andmaintained.

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All the staff of the ITC International Hotel in the hotel lobby

14 ITC News 2007-3

Hi to everyone,When I was asked to write something about my work atthe hotel, one of my first questions was how much spacewas available. After all, it’s not easy to describe in just afew sentences what our work at the ITC hotel receptionentails.

We, the IIH reception team (Yvet, Ruben, Margot, Wietskeand Saskia), all do our work with dedication and have ourown ways of assisting the guests during their stay - each ofus with our own skills and personality. We do have onething in common though: we want to offer the guests ahome away from home. That is the main goal of the IIH re-ception, the guiding principle we follow during their stay.

Over the years I have worked at the ITC hotel, innumerablefaces have passed through the doors - many I will remem-ber always. I have met nice, interesting, sweet, fascinatingguests from all over the world. I have learned a lot abouttheir cultures, about their habits, and about them. I havealso learned (and am still learning) how to welcome peoplein their own language. Besides all that, I have learned a lotabout myself.

Being a hotel receptionist is a job that demands versatility.In between the usual reception work, such as checking in,answering the phone, taking messages and packages,doing memo and mail work, and selling coins for washingand drying machines, we do our best to translate cookingrecipes, explain technical manuals, arrange Schiphol taxisand upgrade mobile phones - as well as clarify certain pe-culiarities of the Dutch language and, come December,provide a potted history of Sinterklaas. At the reception,we also listen to happy stories from a proud father, tellingus there is a new arrival in the family, as well as sad orfunny stories that people want to share. Sometimes we talk

to guests who are feeling homesick - those who have beenlooking sad for days and need to chat a bit to see thebrighter side of life once again. You learn to know andrecognise the behaviour of guests who have been stayingat the hotel for some time. You recognise the sporty guest,who is always full of energy; you recognise the silent guestor the “dreamer”; or the curious guest who travels all overEurope and comes back with lots of stories. You learn howto approach each guest in a different way. And you’re alertto when needed - especially at thesis time, when faces be-come thinner from hard work and staying late at ITC startsagain. When the pressure is on, you can sense the stressamong those who are struggling. I remember once that inreception we had a bag of 30 kiwis bought at the market(vitamin boost) to give to students who were so loadeddown with work that they were unable to cook, and simplyignored the fact that they had to eat. The only thing the re-ception could do was to back them up with a kiwi. It’s notabout kiwi fruit; it’s just that we want everyone to feelthat, whatever the problem, if the reception can do some-thing to help, we will.

I have often been told by guests who were leaving after 18months that new students would come and take theirplace and that we would forget the “old” faces. But that’snot how it goes. You get to know the guests and their ownindividual ways of expressing themselves. To me, no one isreplaceable.

People have asked me whether this job hasn’t become bor-ing after so long. Wouldn’t I like to do something differ-ent? I never get bored in my job. To have the whole worldunder one roof, to meet and be able to talk with so manynationalities and learn about their cultures ... taken all to-gether, this makes me very proud of my job and I love whatI do. It is not simply paperwork; it’s mainly “people work” -and that can never be boring. The biggest complimentpeople can pay is to say they feel at home. And when theyleave the hotel, we want them to leave with smiles on theirfaces. Then we are satisfied.

Hope everyone is doing very well, and wish you all thebest,

Saskia, Receptionist ITC International Hotel

M A I N F E A T U R E S

Under the above heading, the ITCresearch group on SDI technologyorganised a workshop at the GrandImperial Hotel in Kampala, Uganda,on 12 September. Some 25 partici-pants from various East African(mostly Ugandan) organisationsconvened, as well as other inter-ested parties from further afield,and they discussed their experiencesin building SDI nodes. The list ofparticipants revealed a broad inter-est from government agencies, aca-demia and the private sector.

It was a two-part workshop. The firstpart was devoted to reports by in-vited speakers on their experience athome in building systems that oneday would become nodes in the na-tional SDI. Bernard Muhwezi from theUganda Bureau of Statistics providedan overview of current activities in hiscountry; Emanuele Gennai from ESRIEurope shared with us ESRI’s philoso-phy of constructing SDI nodes; andAndreas Wytzisk from the Germanycompany con terra GmbH, provided alook into a highly interesting and re-cently finalised project for the EUwithin the context of INSPIRE. It wasclear from the discussions that a truediversity of techniques and methodsis currently being applied to get SDIsystems up and running - and withvarying degrees of success, whethermeasured in completeness, correct-ness or user acceptance.

In the second part of the workshop,after well-deserved refreshments, weentered into a plenary discussion onmatters of SDI design approaches,specifically related to the methodsand techniques but also with a strongemphasis on user orientation. With

regard to the last point, we agreedthat our field is still too map- andproduct-oriented and inadequatelyaddresses the direct informationneeds of organisations and individu-als. We also agreed that no standardi-sation is yet in place concerning de-sign and implementation approaches,and that this would help tremen-dously in building up the geo-IT ca-pacity so urgently needed in EastAfrica (as it is elsewhere). Designstandards should, among otherthings, include modelling languagesfor information content and servicedefinitions, and open standards thatcan be supported by both proprietaryand open software platforms. Wealso agreed that template documen-tation of properly designed systemsshould become available to stimulatelearning and promote development.

Late in the workshop we discussedhow a pilot showcase for SDI couldbe developed in Uganda under apublic/private partnership, and whatwould be the critical success charac-teristics to make such a showcasegenerate wider interest in SDI devel-opment. This was one of the mostvaluable discussions of the wholeworkshop, and a good lead to pur-sue.

At that point the hotel management‘forced’ us to move poolside for colddrinks and warm snacks. However,this interruption to the debate provedto be of a purely temporary nature.

15ITC News 2007-3

P R O J E C T N E W S

project news

Workshop Report: Design Methods for Sustainable SDI 2007

Rolf de By deby@itc.nl

For more information, you can visit the workshop’s website (www.itc.nl/sdidm07) or contact Rolf de By (deby@itc.nl) or

Lyande Eelderink (eelderink@itc.nl).

ITC and Witteveen + Bos Consultantshave recently executed a feasibilitystudy on upgrading the Beskyd rail-way tunnel in the Ukraine (Photo 1).This tunnel is located in the westernregion of the Ukraine, and forms partof the important railway line betweenEast and West Europe (Figure 1).

Four years ago, Ukrainian Railways re-ceived a loan from the European Bankfor Reconstruction and Development(EBRD) to upgrade this railway con-nection. Obviously, little interest inEast-West connections existed in thedays of the Iron Curtain, but since thechanges in the early 1990s economiccooperation between East and Westhas been booming and as a conse-quence traffic between East and Westhas also been increasing.

Beskyd TunnelA series of railway connections existbetween Eastern and WesternEurope. One of the main lines is fromMoscow via Kiev and Lviv toBudapest, Prague and Vienna. Thisline crosses the CarpathianMountains in the west of theUkraine, and at one of the highest

passes a series of tunnels cut throughthe mountains. Trains pass aboutevery 10 minutes and are very long:passenger trains generally have 30 to40 carriages, while freight trains con-sist of a hundred or more wagons.Three or four large locomotivespulling and two pushing are neces-sary to get the trains through themountains. The 1.7 km Beskyd tun-nel, located close to a village of thesame name, is one of the longesttunnels on the line. It is a single-tracktunnel that was built in the late1800s when the area was part of theAustrian-Hungarian empire. The tun-nel has been upgraded and repaired acouple of times, but is presently inpoor condition. Trains passingthrough can reach a maximum speedof only 20 km an hour. Furthermore,the tunnel is the only single-trackstretch of the whole line. In winter,the continuous influx of water in thetunnel freezes, and the ice has to beremoved daily to keep the line open.Because of the poor condition andthe fact that the tunnel has only onetrack, the tunnel forms a serious bot-tleneck in the railway link betweenEastern and Western Europe. To re-move this bottleneck, it is necessaryto either improve the existing tunnelby widening it or create a new dou-ble-track tunnel parallel to the oldone. An engineering geological studywas vital before embarking on con-struction.

Beauty ContestUkraine Railways and the ERBD or-ganised a so-called “beauty” contesttender for the engineering geologicalstudy and invited European consult-ing companies to tender. A beautycontest tender means that the pro-posals are evaluated primarily onquality and only secondly on price.ITC, in a joint venture with Witteveen+ Bos Consultants, beat off all rivals,including large consulting and railwaycompanies from Austria, Germanyand the United Kingdom.

Engineering Geological and Geotechnical SurveyThe first stage of the work consistedof engineering geological mapping ofthe area and an inspection of the ex-isting tunnel. All exposures of rockand soil were investigated in a two-week campaign by staff fromITC/W+B and the Ukrainian railwaycompany UZ. Each exposure wascharacterised according to type ofrock or soil, discontinuity patterns,compressive and shear strength prop-erties, and all other features that arerelevant when designing a new or en-larged tunnel. Based on this survey, adetailed (1:10,000 scale) engineeringgeological map and cross sectionswere made. Also the locations wereselected for the subsequent site in-vestigations for the second stage ofthe project. This second stage con-sisted of an underground campaignof four boreholes drilled to a maxi-mum depth of 250 m and an electri-cal resistivity survey. The cores of theboreholes were described in detail,and pumping tests in the boreholesestablished groundwater levels andthe permeability of the rocks.Laboratory tests were carried out onselected samples from the boreholes.

16 ITC News 2007-3

P R O J E C T N E W S

ITC Advisory Services: The Beskyd Railway Tunnel

Robert Hack hack@itc.nl

Siefko Slob slob@itc.nl

Photo1. Entrance Beskyd tunnel Figure 1. Location of Beskyd tunnel

ResultsThe rocks in the tunnel area consist ofso-called flysch deposits, which arestrongly deformed and folded and in-clude some important faults (seeFigure 2). Flysch deposits are repeat-ing sequences of material, startingwith coarse sandstone, becomingfiner sandstone and then siltstone,and ending with shale. One sequencehas an approximate thickness of 1 to20 m. This repeating sequence is ex-pected to be a major problem in de-signing a new tunnel (Photo 2 andFigure 3). The sandstones are strongand highly permeable, while the shaleis weak and impermeable. Hence, atunnel will have to go through water-bearing permeable sandstones, witha water head up to the surface to amaximum of 250 m. The weak shalewill squeeze when excavated, allow-ing the release of stress on the sand-stone and making it possible thatsandstone blocks will fall from theroof and walls in the newly excavatedtunnel. Excavation methods and thedesign of a new tunnel or the widen-ing of the existing tunnel will have totake this into account. Suitable exca-vation methods will have to use ashield, sophisticated forepoling tech-niques, or a tunnel-boring machine.

As a result of the survey, different de-sign scenarios can be drafted for thenew tunnel or for upgrading the ex-isting Beskyd tunnel. It will dependon the contractors as to which optionis going to be the most economical.This is going to be decided in the fol-lowing phase of the project. UkraineRailways were very satisfied with thework done and awarded the ITC andW+B project leaders the Order ofMerit as a token of appreciation forthe work of the whole project crew(see Photo 3).

Tunnels in Developing CountriesAlthough this was not a typical ITCproject, it was very beneficial for theInstitute. Obviously, the staff involvedgained valuable consulting experiencethat will help in attracting additional

advisory and research projects.Indirectly, it will also increase thequality of the education, since the ex-perience can be transferred to thestudents.

Transport routes such as roads andrailways in tunnels are an environ-mentally friendly way of arrangingtransport. In addition, sustainability isvery high. Anyone who has visiteddeveloping countries knows of roadsin mountainous areas that are flushedaway each rainy season. Apart from adevastating effect on the environ-ment, the disruption of transport isalso very bad for economic develop-ment. Initially, transport in a tunnel

requires high investment, but in thelong run it is far more beneficial for adeveloping country because it en-sures long-term uninterrupted func-tioning without much maintenance.

17ITC News 2007-3

P R O J E C T N E W S

Figure 2. Engineering geological map and section

Photo 2. Exposure of rock in the existingBeskyd tunnel

Figure 3. Example of borehole log

Photo 3. The Order of Merit of the UkraineRailways as a token of appreciation for theexcellent work performed by the whole proj-ect crew

In September 2004, ITC partneredour institution, Ardhi University(formerly known as UCLAS), basedin Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to un-dertake joint training in the area ofgeo-information science. The part-nership culminated in the imple-mentation of the GeoinformaticsDiploma course (GFM.4) at ArdhiUniversity and the course is runjointly by ITC and Ardhi University.The course started with 11 partici-pants, but that number had in-creased to 27 in September 2007. Asin the ITC GFM.4 course, participantscome from different African coun-tries, such as Botswana, Zambia,Democratic Republic of the Congo,Namibia and Tanzania itself.

Through this cooperation, ITC andArdhi University have established astaff exchange programme, wherebyITC staff come to the university toteach in some modules and universitystaff visit ITC to participate in super-vising the individual final assignmentsof the GFM.4 course participants. Tosupport the partnership, university

staff visited ITC in 2006, and underthe staff exchange programmeAdelina Malunda and I from ArdhiUniversity visited the Institute asguest lecturers from 21 August to 12October 2007. During the staff ex-change programme, we participatedin supervising GFM.4 individual finalassignments. The exchange also pro-vided us with a platform to ensurethat the GFM.4 course offered atArdhi University conforms to the stan-dard of ITC education, particularly interms of content and delivery system.

We supervised a total of nine GFM.4course participants out of 24 in theGIS and cartography specialisation.Photo 1 shows the mid-term assess-ment in progress. Each student wasguided by two supervisors, one fromITC and one from Ardhi University.The final project requires participantsto use the skills acquired and datafrom their own countries to carry outanalysis and visualization and comeup with some useful output that canbe applied in their daily working ac-tivities back home.

During our stay at ITC, not only didwe have the chance to interact withstaff in the Department of Geo-infor-mation Processing, but we also at-tended some departmental meetings,where we were always encouraged tocontribute. Furthermore, we attendedthe ESRI User Conference held inRotterdam in September 2007, wherewe discovered many possibilities forusing ESRI software to analyse geo-graphical data and create differenttypes of maps. Another importantsession at this conference was the ex-hibition of state-of-art equipment(see Photo 2). Importantly, we gainedmore insights into the functionality ofArcGIS version 9.2, which is currentlyused in ITC for geographical dataanalysis and the creation of maps.

We also learnt that ITC had madesome changes to GFM.4 modules andsoftware to make the course betterorganised and more useful, and wehad some meetings with departmen-tal staff involved in the course to en-able us to adopt some of the changesat Ardhi University. Finally, we were

18 ITC News 2007-3

partnership news

ITC/Ardhi University Staff Exchange Programme

Christine Mshana mshana04847@alumni.itc.nl

Ardhi University, Dar es Salaam,Tanzania

Photo 1: GFM.4 student under supervision inAugust 2007 (left: Mr Willy Cock from ITC; stand-ing: Ms Christine Mshana from Ardhi University,Dar es Salaam,Tanzania)

Photo 2: Ardhi University staff at the ESRI UserConference Exhibition, Rotterdam, in September2007 (left to right: Ms Adelina Malunda and MsChristine Mshana)

Photo 3: GFM.4 graduation ceremony in October2007 (left to right: Ms Adelina Malunda fromArdhi University, Ms Doris Offei, GFM.4 graduatefrom Ghana, and Ms Christine Mshana fromArdhi University)

P A R T N E R S H I P N E W S

very happy to see all the participantsthat we had supervised awarded theirdiplomas. Photo 3 shows a veryhappy team of staff from ITC’sDepartment of Geo-informationProcessing and Ardhi University withone of the graduates.

ITC and the University College ofLands and Architectural Studies(UCLAS) in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania,have been working together for avery long time. This cooperationbegan in the late ‘80s and early ‘90son a number of research projects.Several years later, the EISCAP proj-ect led to intensification of the co-operation. EISCAP aimed at estab-lishing short and tailor-made train-ing programmes for the EasternAfrican region on the use of GIS andremote sensing for a wide range ofapplications.

Since 2004, ITC and UCLAS havejointly embarked on implementingthe Diploma course Geoinformatics(GFM.4). The joint course in Dar esSalaam, which is identical to theGFM.4 course offered at ITC, is runcompletely in Dar es Salaam and istaught by a combination of staff fromUCLAS and ITC. The fourth edition ofthe course started on 25 September,with 27 participants drawn fromcountries in Eastern and SouthernAfrica.

In the earlier editions, ITC staff wereregularly involved in teaching theGFM.4 course in Dar es Salaam.However, this input has decreasedover time and now most of theclasses are taught by Tanzanian staff.Within the framework of this cooper-ation, Tanzanian staff also come to

ITC to supervise the individual finalassignments of the GFM.4 students inthe Netherlands. Last year, BerthaSambo and Francis Mwakapuja wereat ITC as visiting lecturers, and thisyear Adelina Malunda and ChristineMshana supported the ITC staff dur-ing the final assignments. (In a sepa-rate article on page 18 of this issue,you can read about Christine’s experi-ences.)

Originally established as the trainingbranch of the Ministry of Lands andHuman Settlement Development inTanzania, UCLAS (then called theArdhi Institute) became a constituentcollege of the University of Dar esSalaam a number of years ago.Recently, however, the Tanzaniangovernment officially approved thecharter establishing UCLAS as an in-

dependent university under the nameof Ardhi University. We would like tocongratulate all staff and students ofArdhi University on this importantfeat, and wish the university a longand fruitful scientific future.

On 25 September of this year, ITCand Ardhi University signed a newMemorandum of Understanding, en-suring that in the years ahead thelong cooperation we have enjoyedwill not only continue but also ex-pand and intensify.

It was indeed a good experience andof course it will help us to maintainthe ITC educational standard. Wewould like to thank ITC for giving usthis opportunity. It has not only en-couraged but also motivated us to dobetter in our own organisation, par-ticularly when it comes to teachingthe GFM.4 Diploma course. We

would like to extend our gratitude tothe management of Ardhi Universityfor allowing us to participate in themission. It is our hope that the coop-eration between ITC and ArdhiUniversity will continue to bring GISand mapping technology to Tanzania,as well as to other developing coun-tries in Africa.

19ITC News 2007-3

On 25 September the fourth edition of theDiploma course in Geoinformatics got underway,with 27 participants from countries in Eastern andSouthern Africa

Recently the Tanzanian Government officially ap-proved the charter establishing UCLAS as an in-dependent university bearing the name ArdhiUniversity

UCLAS Becomes Ardhi University

Tom Loran loran@itc.nl

P A R T N E R S H I P N E W S

On 27 August 2007, ITC commencedthe first regional training course Useof GIS and Remote Sensing in Disas-ter Management, which was con-ducted together with the Asian Dis-aster Preparedness Centre (ADPC)and the Geoinformatics Center ofthe Asian Institute of Technology(GIC-AIT) in Bangkok, Thailand.

The course was in response to the re-quest from ADPC’s regular partici-pants in disaster managementcourses for the inclusion of geoinfor-matics tools and methods. The newcourse was targeted specifically atdisaster management professionalsworking in local or national govern-ment, NGOs or private sector institu-tions who require understanding ofthe use of spatial information in dis-aster management. The range ofbackgrounds, interests and job de-scriptions in such a diverse group isnaturally immense, as is the breadthof material relevant to such training.Interest in the course was keen, and atotal of 21 individuals from 17 coun-tries, including countries in Africa andEurope, participated. This made it, ineffect, a global rather than a regional

training course, and the consequentcultural and professional diversityadded substantially to its appeal. Thebenefit of such diversity and collabo-ration was also stressed during theopening ceremony (see photos), andfervent discussions among partici-pants were still taking place as theyenjoyed dinner during a riverboatcruise at the end of the course.

With the utility of geoinformatics fordisaster risk reduction being rooted inthe spatial nature of all aspects of dis-asters (e.g. hazard, risk and vulnera-bility), a large set of tools can be de-ployed in disaster management.Superficially, these could be reducedto GIS and remote sensing. In reality,however, the arsenal also includesGPS-based tools, database manage-ment and visualisation, community-based methods, and basic but criticalaspects of cartography, geodesy andstatistics. After all, comprehensive dis-aster risk reduction within a geoinfor-matics framework requires currentand reference image data integrated,modelled and analysed in a GIS envi-ronment, and usually supported byground-based information. The multi-

tude of stakeholders, including gov-ernmental units, the military, local,national and international NGOs, andother experts, particularly in a post-disaster situation, dictates that effec-tiveness is achievable only when dataand results are shared and mutuallyunderstood. Hence knowledge ofspatial data infrastructure, data stan-dards and cartographic conventionsassumes a level of importance on apar with image processing or GISmodelling.

Only parts of such knowledge can bepackaged into a two-week trainingevent - although the course did in-clude comprehensive introductions toboth GIS and remote sensing, back-ground periods on basic cartographicand geodetic aspects, database man-agement and web-based data shar-ing, participatory GIS methods, andextensive sections on how to applyand integrate diverse geoinformaticstools to assess different hazards, risk,vulnerability or damage. This was or-ganised in a course broadly balancedbetween theory and practice, andsupported by group discussions.

20 ITC News 2007-3

E D U C A T I O N N E W S

education news

Training Course: Use of GIS and Remote Sensing in Disaster Management

Norman Kerle kerle@itc.nl

Group photo following the opening ceremonyNorman Kerle opening the course, with words of welcome from FalakNawaz, Sudip Kumar Rakshit (AIT vice-president of research) andBoon Tiong Tay (ADPC director of finance and evaluation)

The course was organised by the ITC-UNU School for Disaster Geo-Information Management togetherwith ADPC and GIC-AIT, with the aimmaking it an annual event. A total of11 resource persons, led by NormanKerle from ITC, Falak Nawaz fromADPC and Manzul Hazarika fromGIC-AIT, were involved in the teach-ing, and the course format intro-duced a range of perspectives.Further ITC contributions came fromBarend Köbben on database manage-ment, web-based mapping and visu-alisation, and from Mike McCall onparticipatory GIS.

A 10-day refresher course on Urban Environmental Planning andManagement was held at Ardhi Uni-versity, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania,from 2 to 14 September 2007. Thecourse brought together for thefirst time four organisations withknowledge and expertise in differ-ent aspects of environmental planning and management, envi-ronmental management informa-tion systems, and recent develop-ments in GIS and remote sensing, aswell as with practical experience innumerous SCP projects around theregion. Course coordination and exe-cution was undertaken by Dr RichardSliuzas and Ms Monica Kuffer of ITC;Dr A. Kyessi of Ardhi University, Tan-zania; Ms Karin Buhren, SCP, UN-Habitat, Kenya; and Dr H. Sengendoof Makerere University, Uganda.

In total 26 participants from Tanzania,Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Ghana,Lesotho, Zimbabwe and Zambia com-pleted the course. In addition to 20Dutch alumni sponsored by NUFFIC

(including some who had completedtheir studies in the Netherlands in1985), SCP sponsored four staff fromSCP projects in Lesotho, Zambia andUganda, and two staff members fromArdhi University also attended.

The main topics covered in the coursewere urban planning approaches, theenvironmental planning and manage-ment process, spatial data and envi-ronmental management informationsystems, and using environmentalmanagement information systems forplanning support. The content in-cluded theoretical and practical ap-proaches to urban environmentalplanning and management, with thefocus mainly on developing countries,particularly in the Sub-Saharan re-gion. In the first week, the partici-pants were exposed to approaches tourban environmental planning andmanagement, as well as to emergingtrends in the subject. Participantswere given the opportunity to presentcountry-based case studies. This wasvery instructive and offered new and

unique ways of dealing with emerg-ing urban planning problems. Thesecond week was devoted mainly tothe application of spatial multicriteriaevaluation tools for suitability analysisof human settlements. Spatial data

The course showed that there is asubstantial training need for geoin-formatics skills within the growingdisaster management community,and that in Asia this need can be wellmet by ITC’s growing ties with itspartners in Thailand. The next courseis tentatively scheduled for May2008, and will be duly announced onthe ITC DGIM pages, as well as onthe ADPC and AIT websites.

21ITC News 2007-3

For more information on course content, and for photos of the event, see http://www.adpc.net/v2007/TRG/GALLERY/2007/GRSDM-1/GRSDM-1.asp orhttp://www.itc.nl/education/courses/course_descriptions/C07-ESA-TM-11.aspx,

or contact the author (kerle@itc.nl).

Successful Refresher Course on Urban Environmental Planning and Managementat Ardhi University, Dar es Salaam

Elly Okeyo Obote, Kisumu, Kenya ebokeyo@yahoo.com

Musyimi Mbathi, University of Nairobi, Kenya mbathi@uonbi.ac.ke

Group photograph of participants, staff andofficials of UN-HABITAT (co-sponsor) andArdhi University (host)

Annet Tumwine (Uganda) enjoying the casestudy using ILWIS

E D U C A T I O N N E W S

analysis, modelling and visualisationwere carried out using ILWIS soft-ware.

Because of the limited capacity ofagencies, governments and evenurban managers, fast-growing urbanareas in Africa and developing coun-tries in general are facing challengesin controlling and managing growth.This situation has led to the emer-gence of several environmental is-sues, for example:• informal settlement or slum

growth, especially in hazardousareas such as river valleys andflood-prone zones

• urban environmental degradationarising from poor waste manage-ment and land use change

• transport-related problems such ascongestion.

The course was therefore timely, as itenabled participants to improve theirskills and be exposed to ideas andmethods that would be useful in theirwork as urban managers. The needto improve the sustainability of urbandevelopment and to incorporate envi-ronmental concerns as a primaryfocus within urban planning andmanagement is widely recognised.

The urban environmental planningand management approach as pro-moted by the UN-HABITAT SustainableCities Programme has been designedand tested in a variety of cities, in-cluding many in Sub-Saharan Africa.The collection and utilisation of spa-tial data is a fundamental aspect ofurban environmental planning andmanagement. The so-called environ-mental information system is spatiallybased, and built on a GIS platform. Itprovides information that can in-crease the effectiveness of bothstrategic urban planning and man-agement and local action planning.

While most of the alumni found thatthe topics relating to SCP and envi-ronmental management informationsystems refreshed the knowledge andexperience gained during their earlier

studies at ITC, the topic on multicrite-ria analysis techniques using ILWISproved a real eye-opener.

During a one-day excursion to severalinformal settlements and new devel-opment areas in Dar es Salaam, theparticipants were able to gain practi-cal experience of environmental plan-ning and management project activi-ties. The city of Dar es Salaam hasmade good progress in urban plan-ning and the participants were ableto acquire first-hand experience ofhow communities have been involvedin settlement upgrading. The cityplanners have been able to use GIStools to define areas suitable for set-tlement and future development. Dares Salaam was therefore a good loca-tion for the course, and we the par-ticipants picked up more than a grainof knowledge to take back home anduse to improve the urban planningprocess in our own cities.

The course concentrated not only onthe planning and use of spatial multi-criteria evaluation tools, but also onsocial and educational aspects. Theprogramme included a one-day ex-cursion to the historic city ofBagamoyo to allow participants tosee efforts to conserve important cul-tural and historical aspects of the cityfor future generations. Bagamoyo isfamous as a shipping point duringthe slave trade. In its vicinity are theruins of Kaole, which serves as agood example of how environmentalchanges can undermine the sustain-ability of human settlements. The de-cline of Kaole has been attributed tosuch causes as the silting up of the

estuary, the expansion of the man-groves, and the increased salinity ofthe groundwater.

During the closing ceremony the par-ticipants received a certificate of at-tendance, a bundle of materials forreference purposes, and accompany-ing ILWIS software. On behalf of allparticipants, a presentation wasmade to thank the course coordina-tors and sponsors, as well as the sup-porting staff who had facilitatedmany of the course events during thetwo weeks.

That the course was successfulemerged from the course evaluation.Participants expressed the view thatthe knowledge gained during thecourse would be of great benefit totheir organisations back home - al-though they observed that incorpo-rating participatory approaches in thetraditional planning systems would bea considerable challenge. It becameevident that better information hasthe potential to contribute to betterplanning and decision making. Thechallenge, therefore, is for all partici-pants to make an effort to use bettertools and accurate information andthus arrive at better decisions gearedtowards developing sustainable citiesin Africa.

We look forward to similar coursesorganised for alumni, as these wouldgo a long way to helping us to be-come better managers of our urbanareas. Thank you ITC and all sponsorsfor bringing alumni together and forhelping to build stronger ties andlinks across the continent.

22 ITC News 2007-3

E D U C A T I O N N E W S

Participants often worked in groups duringthe course

Dr Kyessi (Ardhi University) explaining the is-sues of informal settlement in hazardousareas during the site visit to Hanna Nassif

In the aftermath of a number of re-cent natural disasters, the realisa-tion hit home in Indonesia that in-formation system technology canprovide powerful tools for both pre-disaster activities (e.g. disaster riskstudies, designing evacuationroutes, determining the best sitesfor refuges) and post-disaster activi-ties (e.g. damage and need assess-ment, help distribution, rehabilita-tion). Likewise, spatial informationtechnology is playing an increasingrole in the spatial planning activitiesof local government agencies.

Following the success of the firstedition of the ESRI Eastern AfricaUser Conference held in Nairobi,Kenya, last year, the conference isnow set to become an annual event.This year’s edition took place inKampala, Uganda, on 13 and 14September.

The local organisation of the confer-ence was in the hands of ITC alum-nus Mr Amadra Ori-Okido, who runshis own GIS company (Geo-Information Communication) and isthe ESRI country representative forUganda. The conference brought to-gether more than 150 GIS practition-ers from the Eastern African region topresent their experiences and findingsand to exchange ideas. As was thecase last year, ITC was representedduring the conference exhibition.

Prior to the start of the conference, aworkshop was organised by ITC’s Rolfde By and Lyande Eelderink under thetitle “Spatial data infrastructure: de-veloping sustainable systems”. Duringthe workshop, discussions focused on

establishing a collaborative networkof agencies and organisations to de-termine a functioning and sustainabledesign for SDI (see article on page 15of this issue).

Embracing this development, theNational Coordinating Agency forSurveys and Mapping of Indonesia(BAKOSURTANAL) organised the sec-ond edition of the GeospatialTechnology Exhibition. This exhibitionwas held in Jakarta from 29 Augustto 1 September.

Bearing the title “Geo-informationfor a better future”, the event illus-trated the power of integrating spa-tial data, GIS and remote sensingtechnology with information andcommunication technology to equipand prepare us for a better future

23ITC News 2007-3

E V E N T S

events

2nd Geospatial Technology Exhibition in Indonesia

Tom Loran loran@itc.nl

The Indonesian Alumni Association mannedthe ITC booth during the event, welcomingvisitors to the exhibition and sharing infor-mation and experiences about life and studyat ITC

ITC project officers Tom Loran and Lyande Eelderink at the conference exhibition

ESRI East Africa User Conference

Tom Loran loran@itc.nl

ITC was present at the XII Congressof the Spanish Remote Sensing As-sociation, which was held in Mar delPlata, Argentina, from 19 to 21 Sep-tember 2007. This was the first timethis annual congress had been heldoutside Spain. The chosen countrywas Argentina (with strong histori-cal, social and cultural ties withSpain); the venue was provided bythe beautiful city of Mar del Plata,located on the shores of the SouthAtlantic Ocean; and the theme was“Remote sensing: towards a betterunderstanding of global and re-gional dynamics”.

The event took place at the SheratonHotel, Mar del Plata, where twofloors were devoted to congress activ-ities, conferences, and exhibitions ofservices and products offered by gov-ernment, industry and academia.

With more than 300 participants anddelegates from Spain, Argentina,Australia, Chile, Brazil, Uruguay,Mexico, Colombia and Ecuador, thecongress provided a unique opportu-nity for the Spanish-speaking geo-sciences community to share recentdevelopments and become ac-quainted with current trends in re-search and education in the field of

UN Habitat has designated the firstMonday of October as World Habi-tat Day, a day to reflect on the stateof human settlement and everyone’sbasic right to adequate shelter. Thisyear World Habitat Day 2007 wasorganised by the Dutch Ministry ofForeign Affairs, the Dutch Ministry

of Housing, Spatial Planning & theEnvironment, and the city of TheHague. The occasion was marked byan international conference on theWorld Habitat Day theme “A safecity is a just city”.

The conference, which was held on 1

and 2 October, was attended by anumber of distinguished visitors, suchas Anna Tibaijuka, executive directorof UN-Habitat; Lindiwe Sisulu, minis-ter of housing of the Republic ofSouth Africa; Bert Koenders, Dutchminister for development coopera-tion; Ella Vogelaar, Dutch minister for

remote sensing in Spain, Argentinaand the rest of Latin America.

Two people from ITC attended this in-ternational congress: Gabriel Parodifrom the Department of WaterResources and Sebastian Ludueña(WREM.2 alumnus, graduated in2006), ITC’s representative inArgentina. During the three-day

event, brochures and promotionalmaterials were distributed to congressparticipants, and both ITC representa-tives were pleased to respond to themany enquiries, which came mainlyfrom advanced students and mid-ca-reer professionals who were keen toknow about the current ITC portfolioof research and postgraduate educa-tion activities.

24 ITC News 2007-3

E V E N T S

ITC at International Remote Sensing Meeting in Argentina

Sebastian Ludueña luduena05844@alumni.itc.nl

ITC Students Ranked First and Second in Thesis Contest World Habitat Day 2007

Emile Dopheide dopheide@itc.nl

The congress was held at the Sheraton Hotelin Mar del Plata, Argentina

Exhibition floor

Gabriel Parodi (left) and Sebastian Ludueña

Gabriel Parodi and Sebastian Ludueña an-swering questions from congress participantsinterested in ITC’s activities

housing, communities and integra-tion; and Wim Deetman, mayor ofThe Hague.

Within the framework of this confer-ence, a thesis contest was organised.Students in the last phase of theirstudies had been encouraged toenter. The thesis had to be relevant tothe theme of World Habitat Day2007, with a focus on cities, develop-ment, stability or reconstruction. Atthe end of the first day of the confer-ence, Jan Pronk (former Dutch minis-ter for development cooperation),chair of World Habitat Day 2007 andchair of the jury, announced the con-test winners, and the ITC staff pres-ent were delighted to hear that twoITC alumni from the Urban Planningand Land Administration course hadbeen ranked first and second.

First prize (m250) was awarded to MrEmmanuel Ooko Midheme fromKenya (UPLA 2005-2007) for his the-sis entitled State vs community-ledland tenure regularization inTanzania: the case of Dar es SalamCity. The jury was of the opinion thatthis work clearly described differentapproaches to land regularisation.The thesis (supervised by ITC staffJohan de Meijere and Richard Sliuzas)identified some intrinsic weaknessesin the original set-up of new state-ledregularisation measures in Tanzania,and made a clear plea for commu-nity-led regularisation. In the assess-ment of the jury, the “thesis was wellwritten, and sometimes even elo-quently so”.

Second prize (m150) was awarded toMr Amin Budiarjo from Indonesia(UPLA 2004-2006) for his thesis enti-tled Evacuation shelter building plan-ning for tsunami-prone area: a casestudy of Meulaboh City, Indonesia. Inthe judgement of the jury, this thesis(supervised by ITC staff MonikaKuffer and Michiel Damen) wasbased on good scientific analysis andrecommended various aspects for thesetting up of “evacuation shelterbuildings: robust multistorey buildingsto which tsunami-threatened peoplecan flee and find safety”. It was con-sidered a very interesting thesis. Unfortunately, the students them-selves could not be present to receivethe awards. However, we would liketo take this opportunity to extend ourcongratulations to Emmanuel andBudi for their fine achievement.

25ITC News 2007-3

Award for Mr EmmanuelOoko Midheme fromKenya (UPLA 2005-2007)for his thesis entitledState vs community-ledland tenure regularizationin Tanzania: the case ofDar es Salam City

Landholders with newly issued residential licencesOutput maps with the identified locationsfor evacuation shelter building (ESBs

QuickBird satellite images of the southern part of Meulaboh City, acquired on 18 May 2004 (left) and 7 January 2005 (right) (DigitalGlobe, 2005)

Award for Mr AminBudiarjo from Indonesia(UPLA 2004-2006) for histhesis entitled Evacuationshelter building planningfor tsunami-prone area: acase study of MeulabohCity, Indonesia

Photo and details of plot ownerslinked to property particulars

E V E N T S

At the 14th General Assembly of theInternational Cartographic Associa-tion (ICA) held in Moscow from 4 to10 August 2007, members electedProfessor Menno-Jan Kraak, head ofthe ITC Department of Geo-informa-tion Processing, as one of its vice-presidents for the period 2007-2011.

“As we are all aware, the interna-tional cartographic community hasseveral important roles to play: inter-nally, as a bond between interna-tional professionals working withmaps, by creating an environmentthat allows the exchange of ideas,opinions and visions and as suchstimulates individuals and national so-cieties in their work and activities;and, externally, by both ‘advertising’the map among those active in geo-sciences, and seeing what other (non-geo) disciplines have to offer towardsstrengthening the map,” explainsProfessor Kraak.

Professor Kraak’s involvement in car-tography goes beyond the ICA. Hecurrently chairs the cartographic sec-

tion of the society Geo-InformationNederland, while his position at ITCoffers him a wide perspective on car-tographic activities throughout theworld. In addition to participating inscientific communities, he is involvedin projects and education in develop-ing countries.

“It would be a pleasure to put thesenetworks to work for theInternational CartographicAssociation and to stimulate the ex-change of cartographic knowledgeand practice among its members,”declares Professor Kraak.

26 ITC News 2007-3

S T A F F N E W S

Dr Ing. M. Gerke Assistant professor Department of Earth Observation Science 1 April 2007

Dr Ir S. Salama Assistant professor Department of Water Resources 1 July 2007

Ing. M. Ucer Technician Department of Water Resources 16 July 2007

Dr I. Ivánová Lecturer Department of Geo-Information Processing 1 September 2007

Ms M.J.H.J. Geurts Alumni coordinator Communication Department 17 September 2007

Drs P. Hofstee Department of Urban Regional Planning and Geo-Information Management 1 July 2007

Dr E.M. Schetselaar Department of Earth Systems Analysis 1 August 2007

Mr A. Riekerk Bureau Educational Affairs 1 October 2007

Welcometo ITC

Staffleaving

staff news

staff news

Menno-Jan Kraak Vice-President ICA

Janneke Kalf itcnews@itc.nl

~

Greetings to the big ITC family! AtITC I learned not only geo-informa-tion science but also how to copewith a culture and living conditionsdifferent from those in my homecountry. This experience trained meto survive in a new culture, withnew food and a new language - anexperience that proved useful inhelping me to start my new life inJapan in October 2006.

It was at ITC that I learned the coreknowledge of disaster management,which turned out to be the inspira-tion for my MSc thesis about floodvulnerability assessment. I owe a lotto ITC staff and lecturers, especially tomy supervisors, Paul Hofstee andNanette Kingma, who fully supportedmy thesis work. Later on, the thesiswas among the winners of an inter-national competition. My PhD re-search is about modelling risk com-munication for volcanic-activity-pronecommunities. Though my current re-search does not really utilise GIS, theknowledge on disaster management

The 8th AFRICAGIS Conference and Exhibition took place in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, from17 to 21 September 2007. The prin-cipal theme was geo-informationfor poverty alleviation in Africa.AFRICAGIS 2007 offered participantsthe opportunity to share experi-ences, with the aim of explaining

the importance and role of geo-in-formation in the fight againstpoverty.

On 18 September, an alumni recep-tion was held in Ouagadougou. Some25 alumni from several African coun-tries (e.g. Burkina Faso, Ghana,Ethiopia, Lesotho, Mozambique,

that I acquired at ITC has significantlycontributed to my basic research abili-ties. My fervent desire is that weshould maintain our networks, bothbetween alumni and ITC and amongalumni.

Warm regards from Kyoto!

27ITC News 2007-3

life after itc

Warm Greetings from Kyoto!

Saut Sagala (Indonesia) sagala@drs.dpri.kyoto-u.ac.jp

ITC UPLA MSc 2004-2006; PhD student at Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan

From left to right: Emile Dopheide, Saut Sagala, Nanette Kingma and Paul Hofstee at theDevelopment Cooperation prize-giving ceremony in 2007 in Tervuren, Belgium

AFRICAGIS Conference and Alumni Gathering

Myriam Ongenae ongenae@itc.nl

L I F E A F T E R I T C

Kenya and Tanzania) attended this re-ception. A prominent guest was DrLaurent Sedogo, ITC alumnus andBurkina Faso’s present minister of en-vironment. Professor Ian Dowman,the president of ISPRS, also attendedthe reception. Furthermore, the ITCdelegation was invited to dine withthe minister of environment and theminister of information technology ofBurkina Faso.

The autumn edition of the Interna-tional Education Fairs of Turkey(IEFT) took place from 6 to 10 Octo-ber 2007 in Istanbul, Izmir andAnkara. On the occasion of this fairITC organised an alumni gathering,and Turkish alumni gathered in theSheraton Hotel in Ankara on 9 Octo-ber.

28 ITC News 2007-3

Alumni Reception Turkey

Lyande Eelderink eelderink@itc.nl

Dr Laurent Sedogo and Professor IanDowman (president ISPRS)

ITC alumni Kwabena Awusu Asubonteng(Ghana) and Anny Sedogo, daughter of DrLaurent Sedogo (Burkina Faso)

Dr Rolf de By and Dr Laurent Sedogo (ITCalumnus and Burkina Faso’s minister of envi-ronment)

L I F E A F T E R I T C