The International Institute for Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC) was an institute of higher (tertiary) education located in Enschede

Enschede

Enschede , also known as Eanske in the local dialect of Twents, is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands in the province of Overijssel and in the Twente region...

, The Netherlands. As of 01-January-2010 it has been incorporated into the University of Twente

Universiteit Twente

University of Twente is a university located in Enschede, Netherlands. It offers research and degree programmes in the social and behavioral sciences and in engineering. In keeping with its entrepreneurial spirit, the University is committed to making economic and social contribution to the region...

 as the sixth faculty, while preserving its unique international character as a faculty sui generis

Sui generis

Sui generis is a Latin expression, literally meaning of its own kind/genus or unique in its characteristics. The expression is often used in analytic philosophy to indicate an idea, an entity, or a reality which cannot be included in a wider concept....

, and is now formally known as University of Twente, Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC).

History and mission

ITC was founded in 1950 with the name International Training Centre for Aerial Survey by the former Prime Minister of The Netherlands, Prof. Dr. Willem Schermerhorn

Willem Schermerhorn

Willem "Wim" Schermerhorn was a Dutch politician of the Labour Party . He served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 1945 until 1946. He was the first Prime Minister after World War II. -Early life:...

 to provide training in map making as an aid to developing countries. Over the years its mission has been adjusted to changing technological and development realities, so that today it offers MSc

MSC

- Computers:* Mario Strikers Charged* Microsoft Common Console Document, file for the Microsoft Management Console* Microelectronics Support Centre* Microsoft Corporation* MIDI Show Control* Message Sequence Chart...

, Master's

Master's degree

A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...

, Diploma and Certificate courses in Geo-information Science (GIS) and Earth Observation (EO) with emphasis on applications in developing countries. ITC promotes PhD

PHD

PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...

 Research in collaboration with universities in The Netherlands. In addition, ITC undertakes applied and technological consultancy projects world wide and contributes to fundamental research in the fields of its expertise.

Education at ITC

More than 19,000 students from over 170 countries have followed ITC courses since 1950. The institute's degrees are accredited by the Dutch system of higher education.

ITC offers degree, diploma and certificate courses in geo-information science and earth observation applied to eight domains: Disaster management; Earth sciences; Geoinformatics; Governance; Land administration; Natural resources; Urban planning; and Water resources.

ITC has several joint educational programmes with partner institutes in the developing world, for example joint MSc programmes in geo-hazards with the Indian Institute of Remote Sensing

Indian Institute of Remote Sensing

The Indian Institute of Remote Sensing is the training and education arm of the Indian Department of Space. Located in Dehradun, the institute offers courses in Remote sensing and Geographic Information Systems , ranging in length from one week to two years.-History:Formerly known as the Indian...

 in Dehradun

Dehradun

- Geography :The Dehradun district has various types of physical geography from Himalayan mountains to Plains. Raiwala is the lowest point at 315 meters above sea level, and the highest points are within the Tiuni hills, rising to 3700 m above sea level...

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 and Gadjah Mada University

Gadjah Mada University

The Gadjah Mada University is the largest and the oldest national university in Indonesia . founded on December 19, 1949; although the first lecture was given on 13 March 1946. The name was taken from the name of Majapahit's Prime Minister, Gajah Mada.UGM is located in Yogyakarta, Daerah Istimewa...

 in Yogyakarta

Yogyakarta (city)

Yogyakarta is a city in the Yogyakarta Special Region, Indonesia. It is renowned as a centre of classical Javanese fine art and culture such as batik, ballet, drama, music, poetry, and puppet shows. Yogyakarta was the Indonesian capital during the Indonesian National Revolution from 1945 to...

, Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

. It also offers much of its curriculum as distance education modules, and offers custom training courses to meet specific capacity building requirements, both in Enschede and abroad.