April 24, 2014 in NTUU "KPI" the meeting of the Supervisory Board of the project "Laying the foundations for a sustainable data infrastructure: providing the base in the Ukrainian government to support sustainable economic growth" was held. This project is funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development of Canada (DFATD), Vancouver Island University, VIU (Canada) and its partners from Ukraine – Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv and National Technical University of Ukraine "Kyiv Polytechnic Institute". On behalf of NTUU "KPI" the World Data Center for Geoinformatics and Sustainable Development is involved in this project.
The main goal of the project is to provide a framework for accelerated deployment of geospatial data infrastructure for the Government of Ukraine through the implementation of training programs for civil servants. The main applied result of this project has to be a training programme for civil servants working in the field of geodesy, cartography, geographic information technology, management of land and other types of natural resources. The programme consists of 6 courses, each of which is devoted to the key direction the development of national geospatial data infrastructure. Courses are developed by Canadian experts, translated and adapted in Ukraine. In the course of the project it is planned to prepare 6 Ukrainian trainers and distance study for about 100 employees of public authorities in accordance with Canadian certification requirements. Duration of the project is five years.
The meeting of the Supervisory Board was held in the format of the webinar, which was attended by Ukrainian, Canadian and Lithuanian experts in the field of the development of SDI. On the Canadian part the meeting was attended by Dr. John Black, dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences VIU, project director Michael Govorov, VIU. On the Lithuanian part the meeting was attended by Saulius Urbanas, expert of European organization of cartographers EuroGeographics. Ukraine was represented in the work of the board by Konstantin Yefremov, director of WDC-Ukraine, Yaroslav Oliynyk, dean of the Faculty of Geography of Taras Schevchenko National University of Kyiv, by directors and managers of Ukrainian state organizations working in this area, by a representative of the Canadian government of the Canadian Embassy in Ukraine.
The members of the Supervisory Board listened to and approved the report on project activities in 2013 and plans for the project implementation in 2014. During this period, agreements on cooperation with Ukrainian partners of the project were signed, 6 Ukrainian trainers were selected, relations with nearly 20 state organizations were established and recruitment of the two groups of students was carried out. Prior to September 1, 2014 the development and translation of two courses must be completed and training of students should begin.
The Supervisory Board discussed the importance of introducing the training courses in Ukraine, noted the positive results of the previous year work and made recommendations to improve the planning process and preparation of training courses. The next Supervisory Board meeting is scheduled for 2015.