Here below you can find all master courses the University Centre offers. All courses are taught in 1-3 week modules running from August through June. See how the courses are organised in the teaching schedule for both programs. Usually 2-3 courses are taught at the same time, but students may only enroll in one course at a time.
The master courses are available to you whether you plan to pursue a degree or just take a course or courses. Please review the options for guest studies to determine how you can apply.
For further information, contact the Administrative Director of Education and Teaching.
Geographical Information Systems - GIS
- Spring 2026
- Instructor: Dr. Jiri Panek
About the course
This course is about the power of maps. Learning the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) may at first appear a rather technical challenge. In this day and age we can not avoid the use of digital technology in our quest for understanding the world around us. Yet GIS still has the centuries-old study and practice of making maps at its heart. And while computers can help us undertake spatial analyses and geographic visualisations much more efficiently, an understanding of the underlying principles and concepts of cartography is just as important to fully exploit the potential that modern GIS tools can have. Therefore this course aims to include as much engagement with maps and aspects of visualisation as it showcases and exercises the use of GIS as a valuable tool to apply and utilise these skills.
Instructor
Jiri has a B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Geography and GIS from the Department of Geoinformatics and PhD from the Department of Development Studies from Palacky University in Olomouc, Czech Republic. His research focuses on GIS in development cooperation and humanitarian aid, with a main focus on Participatory GIS (PGIS/ PPGIS). He has been to Kenya and South Africa for mapmaking, studied GIS in India and is currently co-developing a participatory platform for collection perceptions about the urban environment.
Learning outcome
On completion of the course, a student:
- can evaluate qualitative and quantitative data in order to apply and discuss findings
- can apply a broad range of statistical methods
- can analyse interviews and texts with relevant tools
- can plot data and create meaningful graphs in a format that is publishable
- can interpret and discuss results from qualitative and quantitative data analysis