Words of welcome

Welcome by Rector ITC

We are happy to see you in the The Netherlands and more specifically here in Enschede at ITC. We have been known for more than 55 years as an institute for capacity building in the field of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation. Our research and PhD program, our educational programs and project services focus especially on the needs of the lesser developed countries. We have more than 19000 alumni in more than 165 countries. In the last years, ITC has put a major effort in the development of e-learning in the form of distance short courses, MSc-supervision on a distance, e-support to Joint Education Programmes, and multi-usable courseware. We thought this to be the right location for this International Workshop. The Organising Committee did their very best to prepare this International Workshop. It is now up to you to make it a success. On behalf of the ITC community I wish you a fruitful and enjoyable Workshop.

Martien Molenaar

Welcome by the Vice-President of FIG

Welcome to ITC to join the FIG International Workshop on "E-learning in Surveying, Geo-information Sciences and Land Administration". The FIG is an international, non-government organisation whose purpose is to support international collaboration for the progress of surveying in all fields and applications. This includes education and professional development.
FIG’ s current work plan, titled “Building the Capacity”, focuses on the surveyor’s response to social, economic, technological and environmental change. FIG recognises the particular needs of capacity building in developing countries to meet the challenges of fighting poverty and developing a basis for a sustainable future. The needs for good professional education and the needs for building competent human resources are most relevant in relation to this. Given the needs in education in relation to the available capacity we have to look for new approaches - e-Learning is expected to contribute here. I would like to thank the organizers for their hard work and the excellent program that they have put together and I wish the workshop much success as well as many stimulating discussions.

Paul van der Molen

Words of welcome by the Conference Chair

Welcome to the FIG International Workshop 2008 on e-learning. The workshop is a joint event by FIG Commission 2, Professional Education, and Commission 7, Cadastre and Land Management. The general theme of the workshop is Sharing Good Practice: e-learning in surveying, geo-information sciences and land administration. We have tried to prepare for you an exciting and interesting programme, both scientifically and socially. We have been very pleased by the high quality of the papers representing a wealth of good practices in e-learning. We are very happy with the keynote and invited speakers who have been willing to give their scientific vision on the subject and we trust that you will go home after this event with new insights, knowledge, ideas, and, of course, new contacts and friends. If there are any aspects of the workshop organisation which are not satisfactory, or are a problem for you, please come and discuss it with me personally, as our Organising Committee has really done the best they could so any deficiencies are due to my neglect. We wish you an enjoyable stay in Enschede during this International Workshop, and hope you will take advantage of the opportunity to build new networks, strengthen existing relations, learn new things and try out challenging e-learning tools during the various technical and social activities planned during your stay here.

Liza Groenendijk