Mission

Geographic Information Science, serving as the common ground for trans-disciplinary basic research at ÖAW GIScience, is understood as the foundation and keystone of the spatial component in today’s information and knowledge society.

Based on fundamental concepts from Geography and frameworks from information and communication sciences, GIScience is developing theoretical concepts, methods, algorithms and strategies for modeling the spatial and temporal dimensions of the real world.

Demands for making spatial perspectives explicit arise from numerous application domains, ÖAW GIScience has decided to focus on a research programme led by the search for common ground in concepts and methods, independent from particular application logics.

This common ground of a spatial view is leveraging ubiquitous georeferencing as a key to integrate information from disparate sources, joining natural and social science inputs, combining technical with geographical approaches to achieve innovative outcomes.

Today, we are very obviously in need of crossing borders of scientific disciplines and traditions. The extent of space is one non-extensible resource our globe is offering. Thus we better manage it well to sustain our futures. GIScience is indispensable in this endeavour.