In 2017 ISPRS has introduced the Education and Capacity Building Initiatives to support projects of interest to the ISPRS community. Call are normally launched in autumn of oddly numbered  years. Details of the regulations can be found at http://www.isprs.org/documents/orangebook/app9b.aspx.

Reports of previous calls are available at

• Reports on the Education and Capacity Building Initiatives 2018
• Reports on the Education and Capacity Building Initiatives 2020
• Reports on the Education and Capacity Building Initiatives 2022
• Reports on the Education and Capacity Building Initiatives 2024

Education and Capacity Building Initiatives 2026

In accordance with the statutory mission and activities of ISPRS, the Society shall provide funds to support scientific and other initiatives, which will further improve its international status in the field of the photogrammetry, remote sensing and spatial information sciences, and will therefore benefit all ISPRS members. For 2026, the following four Educational and Capacity Building Initiatives projects were selected and approved by the Council for funding.

Mobile-First capacity building in geo-spatial intelligence and remote sensing in Southern Africa

PIs: Timo Balz (China) and Walter Musakwa (South Africa)

The achievement and monitoring of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) such as quality education, zero hunger, climate action and life on land is often hampered lack of access to resources and contextual learning to solve problems in the global south. Thus, entrenched disadvantages persist hindering progress towards attaining SDGs. Consequently, our project seeks to address this gap by proposing education and capacity building in geospatial technologies within the Global South. Our project thus develops a dynamic and accessible ecosystem focused on open-source solutions and community-driven learning. We target young scientists, early-career professionals, and practitioners in the Global South, particularly those who face barriers such as high costs of proprietary software and limited internet access. Our project utilizes mobile first micro learning where we develop training materials optimized for mobile devices and areas with low bandwidth. The project will also foster peer to peer learning and a hybrid engagement model. does this by developing training materials optimized for mobile devices. Accordingly, this is envisaged to create a digital open access hub, an online community and a network of young professionals equipped with the requisite geospatial skills necessary to tackle the ‘wicked’ problems of food insecurity, climate change and biodiversity loss by applying geospatial skills acquired.

AI-Enabled enhancing the geospatial information capabilities of countries to support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

PIs: Saied Pirasteh (China) and Laurent Polidori (Brazil)

The idea of this proposal for submission was inspired by ISPRS Scientific Initiatives 2025 goals and my previous project with ISPRS in 2024, as well as enhancing the UN-GGIM-AN survey and report entitled: GeoAI position in Academic Network, Industry, Member States: UNGGIM, which was attempted recently by members of the AN and the research led by the applicant (not published yet).

This project enhances geospatial information capabilities through the use of AI to empower the ISPRS contribution to supporting the SDGs. It aligns with ISPRS Commission III and ISPRS ICWG III/IVa's commitment to the UN-GGIM agenda. The project focuses on integrating AI to advance geospatial capabilities, fostering leadership, innovation, capacity building, and cross-sector collaboration. By implementing the UN-IGIF in this project, we not only strengthen the ISPRS but also aim to help researchers, ISPRS members, and countries leverage geospatial data to accelerate progress in social, economic, and environmental sectors aligned with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. All products from this project will be published on ISPRS ICWG III/IVa (2022-2026), e.g., visit: https://www2.isprs.org/commissions/comm3/icwg-3-4a/.

The project will enhance geospatial data management by utilizing AI to process high-resolution satellite imagery, enabling countries to map critical infrastructures, track environmental changes, and identify social vulnerability. The project will organize 1 training session and panel discussion, 1-2 courses, and the joint International Conference on Earth Observation for Global Changes (EOGC) and Geo-information Technologies for Natural Disaster Management (GiT4NDM), with permission from ISPRS, in 2026 (my recent visit to Saudi Arabia shows interests to host it by ECOCODE-King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah, tentatively). Example: Approximately 60% of the course materials are already developed; the remaining 40% (especially interactive labs and datasets) will be completed within this project. Training will employ tools such as Google Earth Engine, TensorFlow, and GeoGPT/SATGPT prototypes, ensuring participants gain practical skills. For example, you can visit a few of the previous ones: https://conferences.uaeu.ac.ae/eogc-git4ndm/en/; https://www.ierek.com/events/EOEC-7th&GiT4NDM-9th. These events will be in collaboration with ISPRS WGs like ISPRS I/2, WG I/5, WG I/4, WG III/9, and ISPRS TC-V within commissions, and supported by the Institute of AI, Shaoxing University, China, ECOCODE and King Abdul Aziz University, Saudi Arabia, University of Waterloo, Canada, K.N. Toosi University of Technology, Iran, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León (UANL), Mexico, Institute of Geodesy and Geoinformation, University of Bonn, Saveetha School of Engineering, India, ICA Commission on Cartography for Early Warning and Crises Management, Nanjing Normal University and by the most qualified subject matter experts available in education, government and the private sector in AI applications for geospatial information that will help researchers, members, and countries better manage these resources and foster collaboration across borders and sectors. However, our flagship event for AI-Driven Geospatial Innovation aims to support ISPRS in enhancing UN-GGIM Knowledge and Innovation, as part of GeoNow 2025, to optimize data collection, open-source, processing, and sharing across ISPRS WGs, and to promote the global geospatial information ecosystem within the ISPRS agenda. The project will also produce 1 publication on AI applications in disaster monitoring and data quality, as well as establish scalable platforms for long-term innovation in geospatial information management.

ISPRS SC Summer School 2026 on geospatial innovations for climate action (pre-congress event, ISPRS Congress 2026, Toronto)

PI: Laxmi Thapa (UK)

Climate change has intensified the frequency and severity of natural disasters worldwide, with forest fires emerging as one of the most devastating climate-related hazards. The effective management and mitigation of these disasters require advanced geospatial technologies combined with innovative approaches. There is a growing need for innovative ways to empower early career researchers through innovative capacity building and knowledge transfer that goes beyond traditional academic frameworks. The proposed summer school, titled "Geospatial Innovations for Climate Action" addresses this critical gap by merging the concept of traditional summer schools, containing expert-led lectures and practical hands-on trainings, with the dynamic format of an idea sprint. The summer school will be organised as a pre-event of the ISPRS Congress 2026 from June 29 - July 3, 2026, at the York University, Canada. In this context, this proposal seeks financial support from the ISPRS Educational and Capacity Building Initiative to organize this global event in Toronto.

The summer school will bring together 35 young researchers, graduate students, and early-career professionals from diverse geographical backgrounds from both the Global North and South where climate-related disasters pose significant socio-economic challenges. The program is designed to build capacity in applying cutting-edge geospatial technologies, including remote sensing, machine learning, and real-time monitoring systems for climate action. A unique feature of this event is the innovation sprint methodology, where teams will ideate, develop, and prototype their solutions under mentorship from experienced researchers and industry professionals. The five-day curriculum combines theoretical foundations with practical, hands-on training. Days 1-2 will provide comprehensive lectures on climate science, geospatial data acquisition and analysis, and risk assessment methodologies. Days 3-5 will transition into an intensive innovation challenge where participants collaborate to form international teams to develop practical geospatial solutions for forest fire management. The final day will conclude with team presentations, with the winning solution being invited to present during a plenary session of the ISPRS Congress 2026, providing exceptional visibility and networking opportunities for young researchers. This challenge-based learning approach encourages creative problem-solving, interdisciplinary collaboration, and the application of theoretical knowledge to real-world scenarios.

The program emphasizes open-source tools and freely available datasets to ensure accessibility and reproducibility of learned techniques, particularly benefiting participants from resource-constrained environments. The project outcomes will consist of documented educational materials, including lecture presentations, laboratory exercises, a repository of challenge datasets, and challenge submissions, which will be made available through an open-access online platform (preferably ISPRS SC website), extending the impact beyond the direct participants to the global ISPRS community. Additionally, we aim to have a network of trained young professionals, who can understand and offer solutions to climate issues. The strategic timing before the 2026 ISPRS Congress ensures maximum synergy with the broader ISPRS activities and provides a platform for showcasing the outcomes to the international community during the Congress itself.

This event aligns directly with ISPRS's mission to advance education in photogrammetry, remote sensing, and spatial information sciences. By fostering international collaboration and networking among early-career scientists, the initiative also contributes to building a globally connected community equipped to tackle climate-related disasters through innovative geospatial solutions.

Afenmai Palaces digital heritage capacity initiative (APDHCI)

PI: Erekpitan Omoikhefe Ola-Adisa (Nigeria)

The purpose of the funding for 3DForTrain is to support the creation of a training process and framework for using close-range sensing methods in forest environments to extract information from collected 3D data.

Afenmai Palaces Digital Heritage Capacity Initiative (APDHCI) will strengthen the skills, tools, and evidence needed to conserve royal architecture in Edo State, Nigeria. Centered on the Palace of the Oliola, Anegbette, and extending across the six Afenmai Local Government Areas, the project will build local capacity to document, model and manage palace heritage using accessible digital methods, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and ground photogrammetry, terrestrial laser scanning where feasible, geographic information systems (GIS), and heritage building information modelling (HBIM).

Funding will support a twelve-month programme that trains at least sixty participants, students, professionals, and custodians, through three intensive cohorts. Each cohort will undertake a structured curriculum and a supervised field workshop. Participants will capture images and measurements in culturally appropriate ways; process point clouds, meshes, and orthophotos; and convert results into HBIM exemplars and GIS layers tailored to conservation needs. A six-week, community-facing intervention at the Palace of Oliola, Anegbette, will demonstrate end-to-end workflows, co-produce priorities with traditional authorities, and prototype a lightweight dashboard for condition mapping, risk awareness, and maintenance planning.

The project will deliver open, reusable resources for Africa-relevant contexts: (1) modular teaching packs with instructor notes and step-by-step labs; (2) an Afenmai Palaces dataset (non-sensitive orthophotos, point clouds/meshes, HBIM prototypes, and GIS layers) with clear metadata; (3) a field manual for low-resource environments, including smartphone-based capture options; and (4) a comparative evaluation that reports accuracy, time, and cost, and user adoption. Sensitive interiors and ritual spaces will be protected through tiered access agreed with custodians, ensuring that openness never compromises cultural protocols.

APDHCI is designed to be replicable. By publishing curricula, datasets, and a concise replication blueprint, the initiative will enable other universities, heritage agencies, and communities to adopt similar methods across West Africa. It will also advance ISPRS educational goals by demonstrating how rigorous geomatics and HBIM techniques can be taught, practised, and sustained in real heritage settings, creating a pipeline of trained practitioners and engaged community partners.

In short, the project will turn palace conservation challenges into a practical learning and innovation opportunity. It will equip individuals with skills, produce trustworthy data for decision-making, and leave behind teaching materials, prototypes, and governance practices that endure beyond the grant period, helping Afenmai palaces remain documented, understood, and cared for in the face of change.