Münster (upm), 04. April 2007
After a procedure lasting 16 months the accreditation commission has now approved the English-language MA courses in Geoinformatics and Geospatial Technologies. The two new courses of study are set to begin at WWU Münster in the winter semester 2007/2008. The introduction of the Geospatial Technologies course is a particular success. It is to be carried out in cooperation with the New University of Lisbon in Portugal and Jaume I University in Spain. As one of ten coordinators across Germany, Dr. Christoph Brox from Münster's Institute of Geoinformatics is leading the course under the EU's ERASMUS Mundus programme.
The course of study was awarded the special seal of quality of an EU MA programme after a highly competitive application procedure. The course is to receive a grant of around four million euros over a period of six and a half years. One of the important factors underpinning the success was the fact that the course is geared to "lifelong learning". It is aimed at graduates worldwide with a bachelor's degree as well as at people working in a very wide range of geoinformation applications who wish to embark on further study in the field of geoinformatics.
The Geoinformatics MA programme, which was also approved, is geared to a very different target group: students who have already acquired a good bachelor's degree in geoinformatics and who would like to specialise - for example, in the field of research. Such students need not only be graduates of WWU Münster, but can also be students from abroad. Numerous enquiries have already been received by the Institute of Geoinformatics, which is thus continuing the systematic internationalisation of its teaching. A knowledge of English and multicultural experience are indispensable competencies in today's academic and working worlds.
This is why English-language teaching, international guest lecturers and guest students, as well as the opportunity for Münster's students to study abroad, all make a significant contribution to the quality of teaching as well as to improved employment opportunities for graduates of geoinformatics. Prof. Kuhn received the Teaching Award of the University of Münster in 2004 in recognition of these activities in the field of internationalisation. The two English-language MA programmes are set to raise the international profile of the Institute of Geoinformatics.
Contact and information: Dr. Christoph Brox, broxc@uni-muenster.de; Prof. Dr. Werner Kuhn, kuhn@uni-muenster.de