https://nl.linkedin.com/pub/jasper-dekkers/10/491/5a2
Sharing and (re-)using GIS-data for 
Research and Education @VUamsterdam
Dr. Jasper Dekkers
SPINlab | VU Amsterdam
@jecdekkers
GIS & VU
• GIS & VU
• What?
• Who?
• How?
• VU Geoplaza SDI
• Future developments
Assistant Professor 
Spatial Economics & Informatics
Coordinator GIS-education & 
GIS-research support VU 
Amsterdam
@VUamsterdam
since 1995/2000
GIS & VU
GIS by definition is everywhere
Mission: GIS campus-wide (and beyond…)
• SupportFEWEB & FALW-staff & students with 
  spatial data, tools & knowledge
• Connect researchers
• Share      existing resources & knowledge 
                      between researchers
What?    Idea behind SDI
• Support Search, Find (& Download)
– GIS-data in the cloud
– Focus on downloadable data
• Connect users, VU-spatial community
• Share Local GIS-data (@VU)
• Reduce redundancy (e.g. contracts)
Spatial 
Data Data Infrastructure
Who?
How?     Requirements
• Open source
• (defacto) Standards
• Scaleable & Expandable
• Flexible structure (Plug-ins, Open data & licensed data, 
VU-wide vs. Faculty-only, Researchers and/or Students, 
Campus acces vs. Public acces)
• Well-embedded in organisation structures 
(e.g. services, IT, communication) 

How?

CKAN Spatial Search plug in: Filter by location
INSPIRE-INSPIRED metadata 
Tags, Themes & Topics
INSPIRE is "an EU initiative to 
establish an infrastructure 
for spatial information in Europe 
that is geared to help to make 
spatial or geographical information 
more accessible and interoperable 
for a wide range of purposes 
supporting sustainable development
".[1]
Web Viewer 
OpenLayers & JavaScript

CKAN Data Preview
Big data sets (e.g. BAG)
On campus: WFS in GIS client possible
Off campus: No WFS, WMS via tile cache + direct download

Publish & Share 
• Connect More faculties, 
universities & people
• SupportVU-staff & students
• Share data with other universities 
(        SURFconext)
• Share knowledge on tools & scripts 
(e.g. API’s, web-crawling)
• Researchers upload and 
share data as well
• Multiple WMS-layers in one preview web map
Future developments
Questions?
spinlab.vu.nl     /     j.dekkers@vu.nl