News

From September 1st to 26th, IAMO welcomed three Albanian guest researchers in Halle (Saale) who apply GIS in their work on agriculture, climate change and environmental resources in the Western Balkans. Asoc. Prof. Dr. Sonila Papathimiu (University of Tirana) worked on the topic „Analysis of Existing High-Resolution Land-Cover Maps for the Western Balkans“ and classified the change in crop and forest types in the region since 2017 analyzing newly published data from Copernicus with a resolution of 10 meters. Mrs. Rea Muka (GIZ Albania) analyzed previously unavailable meteorological station measurements from Albania and applied the CLINO tool to calulate climatologies for the country in her project „Strengthening Climate Resilience in Albania through Geospatial Analysis: Developing a Climate Reference“. Dr. Hysen Kokiçi (Agricultural University of Tirana) worked on his project „Citizen-Science Powered Biodiversity Monitoring in the Western Balkans: Bridging Ecological Data Gaps for Sustainable Agriculture“, for which he analyzed the spatial distribution of pest insect records from the citizen-science platform iNaturalist and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). We thank all researchers for their valuable contributions and look forward to a continued collaboration in the frame of GEO-WB6!

On 05 September 2025 in the frame of our project GEO-WB6 "Establishing a Geoinformation Centre for the Western Balkans", a workshop was held at IAMO in Halle, Germany, bringing together researchers from IAMO and the Agricultural University of Tirana to discuss the current state of research at both institutions and ongoing project work. Three Albanian guest researchers, currently hosted at IAMO, presented overviews of their research topics, including extreme weather events, land-cover mapping, and biodiversity monitoring through citizen science. The session provided an opportunity for collaborative brainstorming about common research interests and project proposals, focusing particularly on consolidating the GEO-WB6 Geoinformation Centre and identifying potential funding sources for follow-up activities. The workshop concluded with agreed-upon action points to guide the continued development of this regional geoinformation initiative.

We are pleased to announce that we presented the Geoinformation Center for Western Balkan at the AGIT conference in Salzburg, held from July 2nd to 3rd, 2025, at the Faculty of Natural and Life Sciences. Our presentation took place during Session 9B: Education Geomedia in Post-Secondary and Higher Education and received positive feedback from attendees. We are progressing on our journey to become a key hub for teaching, research, networking, and data provision in geoinformation technology, with a focus on agriculture, natural resources and rural development in the Western Balkan region!

A Cooperation Agreement was signed between the  Agricultural University of Tirana and Albania's State Authority for Geospatial Information (ASIG). The partnership focuses on joint projects, practical training, and capacity-building by leveraging shared expertise and geospatial data. The partnership aims to improve data exchange, research quality, and specialist training, while promoting geoinformation technologies—particularly through the Geoinformation Center for the Western Balkans.