Events

On the 10th of May, the Ethics Committee of ITC hosted its first event, a masterclass on ‘Geo Ethics’. The objective was to stimulate reflection on the meaning of ethical principles in responsible research and raise awareness of the fundamentals of Research Ethics. The lecture and panel discussion provided an opportunity for geospatial scientists to become more conscious of their social role and responsibilities in conducting research, considering the ethical issues surrounding research with geospatial data and geodata technologies and the potential impacts of their findings on the environment and society.

During the event, Masoome Shariat, the research support officer and the secretary to the Ethics Committee of ITC, delivered a short introduction to research ethics and outlined the committee's activities. Caroline Geveart, an Assistant Professor at the Earth Observation Department of ITC, shared her valuable experience in the ethical and responsible use of location data. She presented examples of ethical questions around location data, reflected on the role of geospatial experts/researchers in conducting responsible research, and discussed ways forward.

The panel discussion was moderated by Issac Olouch, a PhD candidate at the faculty of BMS in the section of Ethics of Technology, and consisted of four members: Alice Nikuze, a UT data steward working at ITC, Dennis Reidsma, an Associate Professor at the faculty of EEMCS in the section Human Media Interaction, Fran Meissner, an Assistant Professor of Critical Geodata Studies and Geodata Ethics at ITC, and Brian Massinde, a PhD candidate on the Do not harm project conducted as a joint endeavour between ITC and BMS. 

You can view the recording of the presentation session and panel discussion below.

Recording