RALEIGH, NC — The use of geospatial technologies such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS) has been growing at an ever increasing rate as more and more organizations realize its power. Whether you are maintaining parcels of land for tax assessment, infrastructure assets for utility systems, or roadways for the Department of Transportation, GIS provides a powerful range of management and analysis tools.

To help the growing community of GIS users in North Carolina, the Institute for Transportation Research and Education Research (ITRE) at North Carolina State University has partnered with eGIS Associates (eGIS), a recognized leader in providing Geospatial Services, to offer a variety of GIS Training courses. These classes will cover a breath of topics from beginner to advanced levels.

According to Greg Ferrara, program manager at ITRE, "ITRE has a long history of providing professional training opportunities. Our partnership with eGIS will enhance our ability to continue that tradition while ensuring we are providing a quality service. eGIS has an amazing reputation and knowledge level which will benefit our community."

Classes have already been scheduled for two of the most popular courses: ArcGIS Desktop Basics and Introduction to ModelBuilder. They are both one-day classes that will be held at the end of February. GIS courses at ITRE are offered through the Geovisual Analytics and Decision Management Group (GADA). For more information about these classes please visit the GIS Training (http://www.itre.ncsu.edu/GADA/gis.html) page.

eGIS Associates, Inc. (http://www.egisassociates.com), an Esri Silver Partner, is focused on providing efficient and cost effective geospatial solutions that meet the growing needs of public and private sector enterprises. Their mission is to help customers consume the Power of Place with current technology standards and Applied Spatial Intelligence©. eGIS maintains credentialed staff in multiple geospatial and IT disciplines to serve the range of needs of their clients. Their "tool kit" of resources includes mobile training labs and a host of state-of-the-art technology to aid in providing high quality and cost-effective results.

The Institute for Transportation Research and Education (http://www.itre.ncsu.edu), administered by North Carolina State University, is a non-profit organization that conducts research, education, and technical assistance projects on a wide variety of surface transportation issues with the goals of solving problems and creating new products, better services and smarter workers. ITRE is located on NCSU’s Centennial Campus.