Wayland, MA, November 19, 2003 – The joint work of the Open GIS Consortium Inc. (OGC) and the Institute for Professional Education (IPE) has already impacted the geospatial interoperability landscape. In a Memorandum of Understanding signed earlier this year, IPE and OGC agreed to collaborate on the development and delivery of GIS related educational materials and classes focused on the advancement of interoperability in the geospatial community.Richard Whitney, president of IPE commented, “We see the partnership as an innovative and constructive way of developing and delivering content important to the user community. Geospatial interoperability is one of the topics we are hearing more and more about from both business and the public sector side of information technology. Our students seek to understand the value and implications of this vision to understand the 'how-to' aspects, as well.”Global Science & Technology (GST), Inc. is an OGC member and partner with IPE in the delivery of the Geospatial Interoperability training. GST developed and conducted the courses, which are offered several times throughout the year. One class introduces technical managers to the value and utility of open source standards in technology program development and acquisition. The other addresses the needs of software engineers in implementing OGC-based solutions.Lee Meeks, of General Dynamics, who attended the Geospatial Interoperability for Managers class, described the class as an “outstanding seminar.” He appreciated the instructors' “knowledge, focus, demeanor and interaction ” Terri Betancourt, of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), who attended the Geospatial Interoperability for Software Engineers class, noted, “We couldn't have had a more informed and more expert set of instructors and the level of knowledge shared was of the highest degree.”To register or find out more about either course, visit http://www.ipeseminars.org , or call IPE at 703.527.8700.The Institute for Professional Education, (IPE), a not-for-profit organization founded in 1975 by a group of senior technical and managerial professionals, provides advanced, post graduate level professional development seminars in the fields of statistics, research, simulation, forecasting, and management.The Open GIS Consortium (OGC) is an international industry consortium of more than 250 companies, government agencies and universities participating in a consensus process to develop publicly available interface specifications. OpenGIS(R) Specifications support interoperable solutions that “geo-enable” the Web, wireless and location-based services, and mainstream IT. The specifications empower technology developers to make complex spatial information and services accessible and useful with all kinds of applications. Visit the OGC website at http://www.opengeospatial.org .– end –“