Kadaster and ITC renew cooperation agreement

Kadaster and ITC have renewed their cooperation agreement during an official signing ceremony at the University of Twente’s ITC campus. Freek van der Meer, dean ITC at the University of Twente, and Frank Tierolff, chairman of the board at Kadaster, both underlined the wish to continue their collaboration, and to bundle their knowledge and experience, in order to actively contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Kadaster (The Netherlands' Cadastre, Land Registry and Mapping Agency) and the University of Twente’s Faculty of Geo-information Sciences and Earth Observation (ITC) have been actively collaborating since 2006, for example through the 'School for Land Administration Studies', with the aim of building capacity in the field of land administration. Courses aimed at knowledge transfer and innovation have supported the development of land professionals from low- and middle-income countries. There has also been joint work on education, innovation and research. The active and intensive cooperation between Kadaster and ITC has contributed to further development of the domain of land administration, both in the Netherlands and abroad. Thanks to the renewed agreement, this cooperation will now continue.

Incorporating practical knowledge and experience

The partnership is aimed at incorporating practical knowledge and experience from Kadaster into the regular master’s education at ITC, as well as enabling research into topics of common interest and jointly organizing courses for land professionals in low- and middle-income countries. These activities will be continued under the renewed cooperation agreement. One new element is the digital disclosure of practical and basic knowledge through online educational tools. Prior to the official signing, a masterclass related to the Land Administration Domain Model (LADM) was held for colleagues from ITC and Kadaster on ‘LADM in the classroom’.

­­­­­­­­­­Freek van der Meer, dean of ITC, stated: “The challenges and big transitions our society faces call for long-term collaborations and partnerships like the one we have with Kadaster. We are delighted to jointly continue our work on education, research and staff exchange.”

Frank Tierolff emphasized: “Joining forces with partners like ITC is important in response to the global pressure on land and urgent need for innovative and sustainable solutions, also in relation to realizing the Sustainable Development Goals.”