News and current events
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The Department of Geoinformatics (Z_GIS) is seeking to fill the position of research and teaching assistant (postDoc) -
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Photos by Alina Traun -
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News
04.07.2025 – PostDoc opening at Z_GIS
The Department of Geoinformatics – Z_GIS is seeking to fill the position of research and teaching assistant in accordance with the Austrian Universities Act (UG) and the Salaried Employees Act (Angestelltengesetz) as a university assistant in accordance with § 26 of the collective agreement for universities (PostDoc). (Category B1; the minimum monthly salary for this position is € 4,932.90 gross (14 x per year) and may be increased on the basis of the collective agreement regulations by taking into account previous job-specific experience).
- Starting date: 1st October 2025
- Duration of contract: 4 years
- 40h/week
- Working hours: by arrangement
Areas of responsibility:
- Independent scientific research and teaching;
- scientific support in research and teaching in the Department of Geoinformatics;
- collaboration in the research group Geospatial Sustainability Compliance;
- development of independent research proposals;
- processing of funded research projects;
- active participation in administrative tasks;
- independent teaching of four semester hours per week.
More details can be found here, or as pdf download here.
22.5.2025 – Service-Learning Awards Event Salzburg
Service-learning is a teaching approach that integrates curricular learning with tangible societal benefits. By engaging in projects that respond to real-world needs, students apply theoretical knowledge in practical settings while contributing to their communities. Related concepts include Civic Engagement, Participatory Science, and Citizen Science. The overarching goal is to mobilize professors, empower students, and build strong ties with civil society, thereby embedding civic engagement within university curricula.
The Salzburg event featured three contributions:
Dr. Lorenz Wendt presented Service-Learning in the Christian-Doppler-Laboratory GEOHUM, illustrating how humanities-driven geospatial research connects with pressing societal questions and opens up new modes of academic collaboration with civil stakeholders.
Dr. Robert Vogler introduced the project Spatially Enabled Learning and its Demand for “Suitable” Teaching and Train-the-Trainer Materials. His presentation emphasized the importance of accessible, well-designed materials to support spatial literacy and civic participation in both academic and community-based education.
Dr. Robert Vogler also showcased Youth Participation in the u3Green Project, an initiative focused on involving young people in shaping urban green infrastructure and sustainability strategies through participatory formats.
After evaluation by the jury based on specified CIVIS criteria within the Service-Learning Award project methodology, the u3Green project was selected to represent the University of Salzburg at the alliance level. It will be presented at the CIVIS Days 2025 in Rome, the annual convention of the CIVIS Alliance. During the event, the project will be featured in the plenary session “Learning Experience in Service Learning at Institutional and National Levels” on Wednesday, June 12, 2025, as part of the Service-Learning Award Ceremonies.
„ CIVIS – Europe’s Civic University Alliance“ is a university alliance consisting of 11 universities, including Paris Lodron University Salzburg. It implements the „European Universities initiative“ of the European Union, which aims to create a more unified European higher education area.
The CIVIS partnership enables participating universities to promote the exchange of knowledge and expertise and advance joint research projects through interuniversity courses and projects such as Open Lab Rolling Call. This contributes to strengthening European collaboration in the field of higher education and the development of a sustainable and inclusive future.
Maximilian Grund
CIVIS Open Lab Coordinator
Paris Lodron University of Salzburg | Office of the Rector
Kapitelgasse 4-6 | A-5020 Salzburg
Tel: +43 662 8044 2435
Email to Maximilian Grund
Photo: © Maximilian Grund / Office of the Rector
Save the date 28.-29. April 2025: Assistant Professor Position Hearings at the Department of Geoinformatics – Z_GIS
Monday, 28 April
Lise Meitner lecture hall, Itzling
- 10:30: Dr.-Ing. Yu Feng, TU Munich, Generative Artififi cial Intelligence for Geospatial Data
- 11:30: Dr. Timo Homburg, Martin-Luther University Halle-Wittenberg: Towards a 3D Geospatial Semantic Web for GeoAI Applications
- 14:00: Ass.-Prof. Dr. Jascha Grübel, Wageningen University: Generic Spatial Data Science Systems -Technology for geoAI, Open Science, and Society in the 21st Century
Tuesday, 29 April
GI_lecture room, Itzling
- 9:00: Dr. Martin Sudmanns, University of Salzburg: Spatio-temporal semantic analysis in big Earthobservation data infrastructures
- 10:00: Dr. Merve Keskin, University of Salzburg: Sensing Human, Sensing Environment and PersonalizingGeo-Experiences: A Gaze-Based Approach to Adaptive Cartographic Interfaces
The presentations are open to everyone interested. Members of the department, students and curious colleagues from otherdepartments are particularly encouraged to participate and to find out about potential future colleagues!
25.10.24 – Digital transformation in indigenous communities in Latin America
Our researchers Sebastian Schmidt and Umut Nefta Kanilmaz recently had the great opportunity to actively participate in workshops on the topic of digitalisation in indigenous communities in Latin America.
As part of ADELANTE2, an EU funding programme, a project („Contribución a la Transformación digital en Comunidades Indígenas„) was supported that aims to promote digital transformation in indigenous communities in Latin America. In this context, Sebastian Schmidt and Umut Nefta Kanilmaz were able to give members of various indigenous communities from Panama, Ecuador and Argentina insights into geoinformatics data and methods. Particularly in the area of satellite remote sensing and freely available geodata, they showed how this data could be used to overcome difficulties in relation to territorial issues, environmental quality and climate change. There were two workshops, one in Panama City and one in Quito, in which several members of indigenous communities took part in person to gain practical experience with GIS tools.
„My most important takeaway from this project is that we as researchers need to think much more about the end use in our activities. There are numerous urgent problems, ranging from contamination of drinking water, deforestation and illegal hunting to the lack of presence of indigenous communities in national and international organisations. Our research in geoinformatics and related sciences – or even better in the context of interdisciplinary projects – must be geared towards being able to help here“ says Sebastian Schmidt, who is also a PhD student at Z_GIS.
We would like to thank in particular all participants from the indigenous communities from Panama, Ecuador and Argentina for their active participation, the high level of interest and the incredibly fascinating exchange! Discussions with potential beneficiaries of our scientific developments was an extraordinary experience. We would also like to thank Elizabeth León Velásquez, Leo Zurita Arthos and Bárbara Constantinidis Migoya, who were responsible for organising the workshops on behalf of the Universidad EAN, the Universidad San Francisco de Quito and ESRI Panamá.
12.03.24 Antrittsvorlesung
Am Montag 8. April 2024 ab 17:15 Uhr stellt sich Univ.-Prof. Dr. Johannes Scholz vor, der seit 1.2.2024 bei uns Professor für Geoinformatik ist.
Ort: Science City Itzling, Hörsaal “Lise Meitner“ (Jakob-Haringer-Straße 2A, UG).
Anmeldung bis 25. März per Email – Details gibt es hier.
08.03.24: Position Announcement: Researcher for SpongeCity project
The Department of Geoinformatics – Z_GIS at University of Salzburg is offering a researcher position in the SpongeCity project ( spongecity.sen2cube.at) with the focus on big Earth Observation data analytics.
Job profile:
Collaboration in an international research project
- Active participation in project meetings.
- Responsible for technical-scientific tasks in the SpongeCity project.
Research in Earth observation, big EO data infrastructure, and artificial intelligence.
The researcher will join an interdisciplinary team of researchers who are focused on Earth Observation and Geoinformatics.
- Start of the position: ASAP
- Duration of contract: at least 2 years (extension possible and envisaged, depending on available project funding)
- Weekly working hours: 30h
- Professional level (preferred): predoctoral (holding a MSc degree) with option to do a PhD
For more information, see the full announcement.
17.08.23: Position Announcement: Researcher in the EO Analytics Lab (filled)
The Department of Geoinformatics – Z_GIS at University of Salzburg aims to combine high quality education with excellent research. The department has several research groups with an outstanding international reputation (https://zgis.at/research) and is offering a researcher position in the EO Analytics Lab research group (https://eo-analytics.zgis.at).
The researcher will join a multidisciplinary team of educators and researchers who are focused on Earth observation and Geoinformatics.
• Start of the position: November (or earlier)
• Duration of contract: at least 2 years (extension possible and encouraged, depending on available project funding)
• Weekly working hours: 30h
• Professional level: Preferred: Predoctoral (holding a MSc degree) with option to do a PhD
For more information, see the full announcement.
25.07.23: Edition 2023
Die 2023 Ausgabe der Z_GIS Broschüre ist jetzt online verfügbar.
28.04.23: AIFER: Künstliche Intelligenz für Katastrophenschutz
Im Rahmen des mehrjährigen Forschungsprojekts AIFER wird unter Projektleitung von Prof. Bernd Resch vom Fachbereich Geoinformatik der Paris Lodron Universität Salzburg ein System entwickelt, welches mit der Unterstützung von KI Katastrophenlagen erfasst und auswertet.
Mehr zu diesem spannenden Projekt gibt es auf dem Blog des Techno-Z, und auf der AIFER Projektseite.
20.04.23: U3green: Jugendliche entwickeln web-basierten Fragebogen zur Gestaltung von Grünflächen im städtischen Raum
Das Forschungsprojekt u3green untersucht, wie Jugendliche und Kinder Grünflächen im städtischen Raum nutzen und bewerten. Geht es beispielsweise um Entspannung und Erholung oder sportliche Aktivitäten? SchülerInnen von Partnerschulen in der Stadt Salzburg entwickeln gemeinsam mit ForscherInnen des Fachbereichs Geoinformatik der Universität Salzburg eine interaktive App, um sich mit diesen Themen auseinanderzusetzen. So sollen die Meinungen und Erfahrungen der jungen Menschen in die Untersuchung einfließen.
Mehr dazu gibt’s auf unserem Blog.
18.04.23: UNI-Blog: Studiengang „Digitalisierung – Innovation – Gesellschaft“ – was ist das?
Im neusten Uni-Blogbeitrag berichtet eine Studentin der Studienrichtung „Digitalisierung – Innovation – Gesellschaft“ am Fachbereich Geoinformatik der Fakultät für Digitale und Analytische Wissenschaften von ihren Erfahrungen mit dem Studium.
07.03.23: Wanted: Scientific senior researcher for the research group “Geo-Social Analytics Lab” (filled)
The Department of Geoinformatics offers a scientific senior researcher position within the research group “ Geo-Social Analytics Lab”.
Job profile:
Collaboration in international research projects Acquisition of research funding (conceiving and writing grant proposals)
Project lead and supervision
Research in geospatial machine learning and artificial intelligence Analysis of user-generated data like geo-social media posts or physiological measurements, information fusion
Semantic topic modelling using AI methods
Sentiment Analysis (emotion and opinion mining in text data)
Application contexts: disaster management, humanitarian aid, epidemiology, urban planning
The researcher will join a multidisciplinary team of researchers and educators in the field of Geographic Information Science and Geoinformatics.
Start of the position: ASAP
Duration of contract: 2 years (extension possible and envisaged)
Weekly working hours: 30-40 h
Professional level: Preferred: postdoctoral (holding a PhD degree)
Possible: predoctoral (holding an MSc degree) with exceptional qualification
Working hours: to be arranged
Candidates are required to hold a degree in the field of artificial intelligence, data science, geoinformatics, computer science, information management or a related discipline. Moreover, an excellent research and publication record, and the ability to work independently and in teams are mandatory.
Details see pdf: English | German
If you are interested in this position, please contact Prof. Dr. Bernd Resch () or by phone: +43-662-8044-7551.
08.02.23: UNI-Blog: Studienergänzung „Geographische Informationssysteme (GIS)“ – was ist das?
Manfred Mittlböck stellt das Programm in der neusten Uni-Blog Folge kurz vor.
