On August 27, 2020, the Spatial Sciences Institute welcomed incoming freshman Amber Birdwell and welcomed back sophomore Christine Chen to the B.S. in Global Geodesign program.
To kick off this academic year, Dr. Laura Loyola, Spatial Sciences Institute Director of Undergraduate Programs, hosted a Zoom to provide Amber and Christine with an overview of the fall events planned for them as Global Geodesign majors. Joining in on the SSI welcome were Managing Director Susan Kamei, Academic Programs Director Ken Watson, and Program Specialist Dairon Caro.
Following the welcome from the SSI academic programs team was the welcome from SSI's colleagues in the Netherlands, who represent the European partners in the Global Geodesign program. Describing the activities that will take place in Amsterdam were Dr. Julia Hoffman, Head of Studies (Social Sciences) with Amsterdam University College (AUC), and Dr. Niels van Manen, Researcher with the Vrije University Spatial Information Laboratory (SPINlab) and AUC Lecturer.
The Spatial Sciences Institute has a long-standing relationship with the VU SPINlab. SSI faculty and students have worked with van Manen closely for a number of years in the presentation of the SSCI 350: International Geodesign course that has taken place in Amsterdam.
Christine, who hails from Taiwan, and Amber, who is from Fort Worth, Texas, shared their interests in being Global Geodesign majors and their anticipation for the fall semester.
Email Dr. Loyola at loyola@usc.edu to learn more about the Global Geodesign major.
