Esri Innovation Program (EIP)
The Esri Innovation Program (EIP) partners with higher educational institutions from across the world to advance the spatial sciences and prepare the workforce of tomorrow. The University of Minnesota became a member of the EIP in 2009, and was housed in the Cartography Lab until moving to U-Spatial in 2021. It is affiliated with the MGIS program, although students in other degree programs can be fully involved with our EIP. The primary requirement is that you are a student, at any level, who is doing GIS development work, broadly defined, using Esri technologies. To join our EIP group, or for more information about our EIP program, contact Len Kne at [email protected].
Outstanding Student Competition
Each year one student is selected, by committee, as the outstanding student of the year for our EIP and is awarded a cash prize ($500) from Esri. Students wishing to enter the competition must already be affiliated with our EIP and must submit a short (1-2 page) description of their project focusing on the utility and originality of their work. This must be submitted to Len Kne at [email protected] by February 15 for work completed, as a student, in the prior year. (Students who graduate at the end of spring or fall semester of the prior year are eligible to apply.) Applicants should be prepared to provide working copies of their projects to the evaluation committee upon request.
The winner is automatically entered in the International EIP Student of the Year competition selected by Esri from all the EIPs worldwide. That winner receives a cash prize, registration, hotel, and travel funds to the Esri International User Conference. Below is a list of the Outstanding Student Competition winners:
Coleman Shepard (2019)
Nicole Helgeson (2018)
Peter Wiringa (2017)
Tobias Fimpel (2016)
Andy Walz (2015)
Yiqun (Ian) Xie (2014)
Cole Kelleher (2013)
Mike Lau (2012)
Tony Monsour (2011)
Jeremy Moore (2010) Winner of the International EDC Student of the Year competition in 2010.