The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Faculty ITC (University of Twente) and the Regional Center for Remote Sensing of North Africa States (CRTEAN) has been signed on 20 June 2023. With signing the MoU, the collaboration between UT’s ITC Faculty and CRTEAN in the area of education, research and capacity development is outlined. The collaboration is specified in the fields of GIS, Remote Sensing, Land Survey, Photogrammetry, Land Administration, Natural Resources Management, Geo-information Technology, and Pedagogy.
The MoU emphasizes e.g. the importance of continuing education programmes, exchange of staff, research and capacity development. During the initial discussions earlier in 2023, when a CRTEAN delegation paid a visit to ITC, one of the identified fields in the region of North Africa States that needed capacity development is the fit-for-purpose land administration approach.
ITC Dean Freek van der Meer also reflects on the MoU: "The University of Twente has a motto, “High Tech Human Touch”, meaning that next to the importance of technology, the social aspect of our human existence has an equal share. The ITC Faculty was created for building the capacity of the countries that need development in Areal Photogrammetry and nowadays in the areas of Geo-information Sciences and Earth Observations. We hope that our collaboration would link our know-how and expertise in the field and develop the region of North Africa States."
Future activities
The next activity planned is the implementation of a workshop in the region of North Africa States under the umbrella of the School for Land Administration Studies – SLAS, a joint venture between the Faculty ITC and Kadaster International, together with CRTEAN and other regional partners on the topic of fit-for-purpose land administration. Both parties are looking forward to strengthening this collaboration with more joint activities in the coming years.
