Geospatial Innovation Program (GIP)

The mission of the Washington College Geospatial Innovation Program (GIP) is to provide Washington students with experiential learning opportunities and professional working experience to complement their Liberal Arts education.

The Geospatial Innovation Program is a spatial technologies hub providing experiential learning through professional internships, academic courses, and support for research. In partnership with external organizations, we pair students with projects to solve real-world problems.

Since its creation in 2003 by John Seidel — director emeritus of the Center for Environment and Society— and Wayne Bell, the Geospatial Innovation Program practices a growth model based in training undergraduate interns as professionals who can tackle the technology service needs of their communities. By involving student interns in funded projects with partners and clients all throughout the United States, the Geospatial Innovation Program teaches data analysis, functional mapping, and the use of geospatial technology through experience.

Environmental analysis and mapping
Crime prevention and traffic analysis
Cultural, historic, and resource mapping
Economic planning and development
Professional workforce development
K-12 STEM education

gis group photo esri 2020

What We Do:

We provide our students with work that expands their critical thinking and analytic skills by pushing them to network and respond to the demands our paying clients and partners.

We support faculty in their research and provide core classes on geospatial technologies.

Why It Matters:

GIP's projects provide a valuable framework that organizations can use to improve their decision-making capabilities.

Our partners and clients depend on us for timely and accurate analysis that they can use to make better-informed decisions that impact the health and safety of Maryland citizens.

Mapping Their Future

Through the Center for Environment and Society at Washington College, the Geospatial Innovation Program provides students with professional training for their future careers, and for the improvement of their local and global communities.