Presentations

Schweizer Geoinformation: Connecting the dots, perpetual beta

Invited talk at the GEOSummit webinar on 15.10.2024. The presentation is my perspective about the state of Swiss geoinformation in 2024: It highlights some shortcomings in the current production and distribution of geoinformation and suggests some avenues through which, together, we can hopefully improve. In addition to the slides, you can read a written version of the talk in this blog post (in German).

geodienste.ch: Eine externe Sicht

Invited talk at the KGK-CGC technical workshop on 04.09.2023 in Olten. The presentation is about my automated data-driven analysis of the geodienste.ch service offerings. It discusses its main findings and its technical underpinnings involving Python, R, Quarto and GitHub. Finally, the talk makes some key points on my outside perspective on the geodienste.ch portal and how it fits into the Swiss data infrastructure.

GeoUnconference: Nutzendenfokus für die NGDI

Invited talk at the GEOSummit webinar “Open Data and Crowdsourcing” on 21.09.2022. The presentation is about the GeoUnconference and how this event series helps to uncover user needs regarding the National Geographic Data Infrastructure NGDI and to connect data providers and users. (The original presentation contains some GIFs, which are of course not animated in the archived version).

KGK und Geoinformation – eine (teilweise) Aussensicht

Invited talk on 25.10.2018 at the KKGEO-CCGEO (now: KGK-CGC) workshop in St.Gallen. The presentation revolves around the role of KKGEO-CCGEO in the Swiss geoinformation sector (most of the slides on this are not part of the publically archived version of the presentation, however), but then also highlights in particular the state of geoinformation and digital transformation in Switzerland and a possible future role of the cantons and their specialists in this context.

Moderne Fernerkundung mit Copernicus und Sentinel

Presentation at GEOSummit 2018 on 06.07.2018 in Bern. The presentation highlights the Copernicus remote sensing program, the Sentinel satellites and the ecosystem of applications emerging around them (Sentinel Hub, EO Browser and EBP’s own developments).

Wohin die Reise geht – Mobilität und Geoinformation

Invited talk for the contact network “GIS Stadt Zürich” on 28.03.2018 in Zurich. This talk higlights defining trends in GIS, mobility research and traffic management, among which star availability of better fundamental data, increasing insight into intermodal and non-motorized traffic as well as recent developments around automated driving.

The Rise of Bots

Lightning talk about the rise of bots (autonomous computer programs), assistance systems, and conversational user interfaces (CUIs). The presentation makes the case that a solid taxonomy of bots is needed to further the discussion around bots. Some examples of bots are highlighted and placed into the taxonomy, and finally a gradual differentation is proposed within the class of bots that “emulate humans”. This talk was held during GeoBeer #15.

Die nächste Evolution von GIS

Presentation held at the GEOSummit on 08.06.2016 in Bern. The talk is centered around current developments in “geo” and GIS: new groups of users, social, mobile use of geo-technologies and cloud infrastructure. Within these larger trends, the talk identifies and discusses three crucial developments: mainstreaming and consumerization, GIS as a puzzle piece of digital transformation and new complexity.

Swiss Open Geodata: Opportunities and Threats

Invited talk held in the March 2016 ITSL workshop on open geodata that brought together representatives from the Swiss National Mapping Agency Swisstopo, academic experts in geoinformation science and law, OGD practicioners from the City of Zurich, Gary Gale (UK, what3words) and myself. The purpose was to identify opportunities and threats that come with open geodata. My talk was specifically intended to approach these topics primarily from an industry perspective.

Informational Magnetism

Given the tremendous developments around the internet and platforms such as Wikipedia and Google, who gets voice and representation online? How do our (pre)conceptions shape our experience of the Internet? Who gets to self-define and who is represented by others? I addressed these questions in a talk given at Ignite Zurich on 03.07.2015, using research conducted at the Oxford Internet Institute.

VGI and UGC: Uses, Barriers and Topics

This talk, held at the COST ENERGIC Working Group 3 Workshop, 26.05.2014, presents some example use cases for crowdsourced spatial data, highlights some barriers for adoption in industry and the public sector and finishes in more general terms with topics that would be of interest and an outlook on developments in conjunction with the concept of opening up (public administration’s) data.

Story Maps und Bundesgeodienste

Presentation at the 2014 GEOSummit, together with David Oesch of Swisstopo. Story maps are on everyone’s lips: But what exactly is behind the term? What can story maps be used for? And how do I create a story map myself? The presentation sheds light on the phenomenon of story maps from the perspective of various players.