Swiss Government signs agreement for GIS in secondary schools

ESRI announced that the Swiss Confederation has signed a countrywide site license agreement with its national distributor, ESRI Geoinformatik AG, to promote GIS education throughout its secondary school system, ultimately introducing the technology into more than 200 high schools across the country. The Swiss Association of Geography Teachers chose ESRI’s ArcView 8, ArcView 3D Analyst, and ArcView Spatial Analyst as the designated software for its GIS program and will coordinate its introduction and training with the local schools. A task force consisting of secondary school geography teachers and university instructors is currently developing training courses and materials. Initial GIS training sessions were conducted for task force members to not only instruct them in the use of GIS, but also to familiarize them with the general concepts of the technology and its practical applications. ESRI Geoinformatik AG plans to work with some of its clients to prepare a special data CD for the program, because local data is very important in developing a curriculum that will be of interest to students.