Redlands, California—ESRI and Tele Atlas, a leading global provider of digital maps and dynamic content for navigation and location-based solutions, are working together for the sixth year in a row to offer five educators scholarships to attend the ESRI Education User Conference (EdUC). The grants awarded will give each recipient $400 for travel expenses and complimentary admission to EdUC, being held August 2–5, 2008, in San Diego, California, at the Marriott Hotel & Marina.

EdUC is an inspiring forum for discovering how geographic information system (GIS) technology enhances learning and provides solutions throughout the education community. Educators, administrators, researchers, librarians, and museum professionals are invited to explore the power of spatial thinking at this one-of-a-kind event, where attendees from around the globe come to learn firsthand about GIS in education. Visitors can check out the latest technology in the hands-on computer labs and the EdUC EXPO as well as learn and share with their peers during Special Interest Group meetings and user-led presentations. EdUC is where the education community can find out everything they need to know to launch or grow GIS activities and programs.

"With maps increasingly becoming part of the fabric of our everyday lives, whether they are being used for navigation, conservation, engineering, commerce, or dozens of other vital applications, GIS education is more important than ever," says Don Cooke, chief scientist,
Tele Atlas. "Tele Atlas is proud to continue its long-standing support of this important event and the enthusiastic, dedicated educators who are teaching the next generation how to use GIS to help solve some of the world's most pressing issues."

"We are grateful to Tele Atlas for its support of education," says Charlie Fitzpatrick, K–12 education industry solutions comanager, ESRI. "Educators touch the future every day. The individuals who attend EdUC will affect hundreds of learners in the next year, and literally generations to come, by bringing GIS into their activities in powerful ways."

            To review the guidelines and apply for a scholarship, please visit www.esri.com/educ. Full-time educators worldwide are eligible to apply. All applications must be received by April 30, 2008. To learn more about EdUC, please visit www.esri.com/educ.

 Tele Atlas and the Tele Atlas logo are registered trademarks of Tele Atlas.

 About ESRI

Since 1969, ESRI has been giving customers around the world the power to think and plan geographically. The market leader in GIS, ESRI software is used in more than 300,000 organizations worldwide including each of the 200 largest cities in the United States, most national governments, more than two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies, and more than 7,000 colleges and universities. ESRI applications, running on more than one million desktops and thousands of Web and enterprise servers, provide the backbone for the world's mapping and spatial analysis. ESRI is the only vendor that provides complete technical solutions for desktop, mobile, server, and Internet platforms. Visit www.esri.com.

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