Celebrating the fifth centenary of Vespucci's discoveries, the Vespucci Initiative recaptures his spirit of multi-disciplinary intellectual enquiry to explore new frontiers of knowledge. To that end it organizes and conducts a range of research and teaching activities, bringing together senior scientists and promising young researchers from around the world. This unique interdisciplinary mix creates what has been called the Medici Effect. (Perhaps it is no coincidence that the summer institutes are held in Florence!) What these particular researchers have in common is a special interest in the locational aspects of societal challenges. These aspects are being studied and exploited in the emerging field of Geographic Information Science and are being implemented within the GIS, Location Based Systems (LBS) and other industries (see http://www.giscience.org, http://www.agile-online.org, http://www.ucgis.org).

The Institute builds on the successes of the Summer Schools organized by the European Science Foundation's GISDATA programme and the (US) National Science Foundation's National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis in 1995-97. The Institute is open to post-graduate researchers in the academic, public, and private sectors selected on a competitive basis through an open call for expression of interest.

A relaxing yet productive
atmosphere is guaranteed




Vespucci Initiative mentioned in journal Nature

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