On the occasion of the International Day of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), the KIOS Center of Excellence successfully organized a workshop under the theme “Towards living maps”, on the 23rd of November 2022 at the University of Cyprus campus. Participants in the workshop included representatives and officers from several organizations of the public and private sector in Cyprus.
Keynote speakers were Mr. Ed Parsons, Geospatial Technologist at Google and Mr. Vasilis Pagonis, Data Partnerships & Acquisition Manager EEU at Here Technologies. The first speaker talked about Google’s digital maps and their impact on billions of users around the world, whereas the second one focused on the creation of digital representation of the physical world. Both speakers highlighted the key role geospatial data and GIS technologies play in addressing modern challenges.
The workshop also included presentations from GIS specialists from the public sector in Cyprus. On behalf of the Public Works Department, Executive Engineer, Aristotelis Savva, talked about knowledge retention through GIS technologies. On behalf of the Limassol Water Board, the Head of Technical Services, Natasa Neokleous, presented the integrated platform “OCEANOS”, a useful tool currently being used by the Limassol Water Board for the monitoring and management of their water distribution network. Finally, Dr. Philippos Isaia, Senior Software Engineer at KIOS CoE talked about the creation of Digital Twins, introducing the KIOS Virtual City case, which is a digital twin used for modeling, simulation, and event prediction events of critical infrastructure systems operating within a city.
The workshop attracted more than 100 participants, from the Cyprus Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works, the Cyprus Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, Water Boards, the Cyprus Police and National Guard, as well as universities, research centers, and private companies.
