Redlands, California—Three universities have been approved as sites for an ESRI Development Center (EDC), a special opportunity that is part of a new design and development program for geospatial technology. On March 18, at the 2008 ESRI Developer Summit in Palm Springs, California, the first three EDC sites were announced including the University of Redlands and Claremont Graduate University in California as well as University College London in the United Kingdom.

The EDC program was created to give recognition and status to exemplary college departments worldwide that educate students in the advanced development of ESRI's geographic information system (GIS) technology. Students and faculty working in an EDC have the capabilities to further apply their area of expertise in shaping GIS such as extending core GIS software, system integration, computer science and information technology related to GIS, and application development for a particular domain.

"EDCs are designed to promote the development of GIS software at the core and application level as well as to recognize institutions with existing excellence in this important aspect of GIS technology," says David Maguire, chief scientist, ESRI. "Business, computing, engineering, information technology, geography—any department with research and teaching in software engineering—can qualify."

An EDC combines education and innovation and fosters essential software development in industries such as energy and conservation. By becoming the site for an EDC, a higher education institution will be able to do the following:

• Have student access to ESRI software and support from ESRI or their ESRI distributor.
  
• Teach and develop state-of-the-art applications in a prototype lab.
  
• Get ESRI-provided training focused on the department's academic specialty.
  
• Offer student recognition through an annual achievement award.
  
• Receive paid registration for two students or professors to the ESRI Developer Summit.
  
• Use the exclusive EDC logo on program materials.

An EDC can be housed in one department or be a multidisciplinary, stand-alone GIS center. Large universities may need more than one EDC on campus. ESRI will be accepting applications during this initial enrollment period until September 15, 2008, after which there will be open enrollments twice a year in January and June. To learn more about the EDC program benefits, qualifications, application processes, and frequently asked questions, please visit www.esri.com/edc.