IEEE GRSS Austrian Chapter at EGU 2026
By: Shaily Gandhi (Chair), Sigmund Kluckner (Vice-Chair)
The recently established IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society (GRSS) Austrian Chapter had an active presence at the European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly 2026, strengthening its visibility and expanding connections across the international Earth observation and remote sensing community.
As one of the world’s leading conferences in Earth and environmental sciences, EGU provided an important platform for the Austrian Chapter to engage with researchers, students, industry professionals, and institutional partners working across climate science, Earth observation, GeoAI, remote sensing, Environmental Digital Twins and urban systems. Throughout the week, the IEEE GRSS booth served as a space for technical exchange, networking, and discussions on emerging research and collaborative opportunities.
On 6 May 2026, the IEEE GRSS Austrian Chapter hosted a pop-up networking and outreach event during the EGU General Assembly 2026. The chapter was represented by Shaily Gandhi, Sigmund Kluckner, and Farzaneh Barzegar.
The Austrian chapter also highlighted several upcoming chapter initiatives, including the IEEE GRSS School on “Earth Observation and GeoAI for Climate-Resilient Urban Systems,” which will take place from 14–16 October 2026 at the
Interdisciplinary Transformation University (IT:U) in Linz, Austria. The school is being organized in collaboration with the Austrian, Italian, and Polish GRSS Chapters, together with IT:U, Linz and PLUS. The program will focus on Earth observation, GeoAI, multi-sensor data fusion, urban climate resilience, and AI-driven geospatial methodologies through expert lectures, hands-on sessions, and collaborative learning activities. For more details, about the school please visit our website.
The growth of the Austrian Chapter has been strongly supported by the wider GRSS community across both Europe and India. The chapter would especially like to acknowledge Dr. Shiv Mohan from the IEEE GRSS India Chapter for their continued encouragement and support in fostering international collaboration and community engagement within GRSS. The other upcoming hybrid event is a lecture on 11 November 2026 by Martin Sudmanns on “Spatio-temporal Analysis in Semantic Earth Observation Data Cubes,” focusing on advanced approaches for analyzing semantic and large-scale Earth observation datasets followed by the first General Assembly to present chapter activities, future plans, and community initiatives.
Within Europe, Silvia Liberata Ullo, European Liaison for GRSS Global Activities, Stephanie Tumampos and Francesco Mauro have played an important role in strengthening collaboration among European chapters and supporting the visibility of GRSS initiatives across the region. The Austrian remote sensing community has also provided a highly welcoming environment for the chapter’s development, with continued support from researchers and institutions working in Earth observation and environmental monitoring.
Participation at EGU highlighted the broader role of IEEE GRSS as a global scientific community that supports collaboration, mentoring, and knowledge exchange across disciplines and countries. For the Austrian Chapter, the event was not only an opportunity to showcase ongoing activities, but also to establish new partnerships and strengthen international engagement for future initiatives.
As the IEEE GRSS Austrian Chapter continues to grow, it looks forward to expanding its activities through webinars, workshops, collaborative events, and educational initiatives that support the next generation of researchers working on Earth observation, GeoAI, and climate-resilient urban systems. This was made possible through the IEEE GRSS Publicity and Communications initiative. Together with Anam Sabir and Yuwan Xue, both serving as Digital Engagement Associates for Publicity and Communications, IEEE GRSS not only promoted its own activities but also brought the Austrian Chapter into the spotlight.
A personal highlight for Chapter Chair Shaily Gandhi has been experiencing how the GRSS community across both India and Europe can help researchers remain connected and collaborative while building new academic and professional networks internationally.
