Finnish Geospatial Research Institute

Finnish Geospatial Research Institute

 The Finnish Geospatial Research Institute (FGI) is a research and expert institute that carries out research and development for spatial data infrastructures. It provides a scientific basis for Finnish maps, geospatial information and positioning. It carries out research and development on methods for the measurements, data acquisition, processing and exploiting of geospatial information and it co-operates with industry, universities and governmental organisations nationally and internationally. The vision of the Finnish Geospatial Research Institute (FGI) is to become the leading research institute in geodesy and geomatics in Europe. The Geodetic Institute was founded in 1918. The FGI was merged into the National Land Survey of Finland 1.1.2015, with the new name Finnish Geospatial Research Institute (FGI). The institute creates and maintains national coordinate, height, and gravity systems. It also participates in projects that try to advance spatial data infrastructure and conducts research on geodynamics, advanced spatial data and remote sensing and photogrammetry. The institute also has a statutory responsibility to maintain the national standards of acceleration of free fall and geodetic length. The Geodetic Institute is currently divided into four departments: Geodesy and Geodynamics, Geoinformatics and Cartography, Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry and Navigation and Positioning. Currently, the Finnish Geospatial Research Institute has a total of 120 people employed. A total of 98 people were employed at the Finnish Geodetic Institute in 2014, including 37 on fixed-term contracts. The average age of the personnel was 42.7 years. The Institute is a male-dominated research institute, with 36.3% of the staff being women and 63.7% being men. Altogether, 92.1% of the personnel have a university degree and 48.5% have a PhD or a similar degree. In terms of funding, operating expenses accounted for 57.2 person-years, whereas external funding accounted for 26.8 person-years. One, of the interesting area of Research is 3D modelling. Accurate and up-to-date geographic information is needed by society for various activities and, increasingly, also in everyday life. Examples of this include city planning, forestry and car navigators. Maps, images and models of the built environment provide important background information for city planning and construction. In forestry, information is needed on the forest volume and tree species. Driving with the assistance of a car navigator would not be possible without accurate road maps. The content of the research activities of the Finnish Geodetic Institute are defined by the strategic research areas that consist of the tasks and development responsibilities of one or several research departments. The topics of the expert tasks and the topics of the research programmes and single research projects are covered by the strategic research topics. The strategic research areas of the Finnish Geodetic Institute are: Reference systems, Mobile geomatics, spatial data Infrastructures and Changing Earth.
Last Updated on: Nov 27, 2024

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