The Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam is one of the five founding partners of the UNIGIS network. UNIGIS Amsterdam has run the programme successfully since 1993, with hundreds of successful Diploma students and over 75 graduated MSc students. UNIGIS Amsterdam is run by the SPINLab (the Spatial Information Laboratory and resides under the chair of Spatial Informatics at the Department of Spatial Economics. We have established reputations in the field of GIS, and have been involved in the delivery of high quality, professional GIS education for over 10 years. The course draws upon a substantial number of experienced staff and impressive GIS research and teaching facilities.

UNIGIS is a global network of universities co-operating in the design and delivery of distance education in GIS. Courses are offered at universities all over the world. The network concept strengthens the course by providing access to expertise drawn from an international group of GIS-experts. At the moment over 2000 professionals from all over the world are following the UNIGIS programme with over 400 new students enrolling each year. Professor Henk Scholten is course leader at UNIGIS Amsterdam and one of the founders of UNIGIS International.