Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham Signs MoU with Esri India to Set up Centre of Geospatial Excellence
- The Centre would help develop specific skills and technical
knowhow around geospatial technologies and latest toolkits like artificial
intelligence, machine learning and Big Data Analytics
- The MoU was inked during the International Symposium
on Disaster Risk Reduction & Community Resilience held to mark the
16th anniversary of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunam
Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, ranked
the 4th Best Overall University in India in NIRF 2020, has inked an MoU with Esri India, the market leader in Geospatial
Information Systems, to establish a Centre of Geospatial Excellence on Spatial
Analysis and Modeling with dedicated facilities for research, development and
testing.
The Centre would promote development of specific skills and technical knowhow
among academicians, students and the industry around geospatial technologies
and latest toolkits like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML)
and geospatial Big Data Analytics. It would conduct certificate and diploma
courses, training programs and workshops, particularly around geospatial
technology application areas to strengthen multi-hazard risk reduction and
community resilience.
Talking about the MoU, Dr. Maneesha Sudheer, Dean of International Programs and
UNESCO Chair on Sustainable Development and Innovation, Amrita Vishwa
Vidyapeetham,
said: “This partnership aims to enhance research and capacity
development in Geoinformatics, Spatial Analytics, and Modelling. The
collaborative initiatives will work towards sustainable development to address
quality education (SDG 4), gender equality (SDG 5), sustainable communities
(SDG 11), and climate action (SDG 13) by engaging faculty, bachelors, masters,
and Ph.D. students. They will help enhance the existing curriculum and
educational material, as well as develop new educational approaches for
effective teaching and learning of sustainability initiatives using spatial
geoinformatics."
Added Agendra Kumar, President, Esri India:
“Empowering the academic community with necessary tools and technologies needed
for future-ready students and capacity building is one of our key priorities.
Geospatial infrastructure is the core foundation of disaster-risk reduction, sustainability and resilience initiatives.
Our collaboration with Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham will support various research
initiatives and flagship programs such as Amrita Live-in-Labs for better
sustainability and development.”
The MoU was inked
during the International Symposium on Disaster Risk Reduction &
Community Resilience that was jointly
hosted by the Ministry of Earth Sciences, the Indian National Centre for Ocean
Information Services (ESSO-INCOIS), Govt. of India, Esri India and Amrita
Vishwa Vidyapeetham. The event commemorated the 16th anniversary of the 2004
Indian Ocean Tsunami. The participants discussed the challenges faced and
lessons learnt since that catastrophic event, and analysed India’s current
preparedness in community resilience, governance and technological solutions to
mitigate any future impact of tsunamis in India.
Dr. M. Rajeevan, Secretary, Secretary, Ministry of Earth
Sciences; Chairman, ESSO-INCOIS; and Chairman, Earth Commission, Government of
India, said: “Even though we have advanced tsunami-warning systems
today, there are many grey areas where we need to improve. We have to engage
scientists and technology experts to improve decision support systems and last-mile connection with people.”
Added Dr. T. Srinivasa Kumar, Director, Indian National Centre for Ocean
Information Services (INCOIS), Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India:
“With the state-of-the-art Tsunami Early Warning Centre at MoES-INCOIS,
India is today much safer against the threat of tsunamis compared to 2004.
However, challenges remain with respect to early warning and community
response, especially for tsunamis triggered by non-seismic and near-source events. Strengthening SOPs of all constituent
agencies and end-to-end tsunami early warning chains is also an important
task."
Dr. Maneesha
Sudheer, Dean of International Programs and UNESCO Chair on Sustainable
Development and Innovation, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, said, “The symposium served as a platform to
integrate the last 16 years of advancements in science and technology to
improve the rehabilitation and resilience of coastal communities. It stressed
on scientific social responsibility to reduce risk and vulnerability factors by
understanding the impact of tsunamis on coastal communities, using latest
advances in monitoring and modeling of tsunamis, and coming up with a strategic
framework to further advance India’s disaster preparedness and build
sustainable and resilient communities.”
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