The European Association of Aerial Surveying Industries (EAASI) is proud to launch the second edition of its Outstanding Thesis Award, under the theme “Spatial Business Bridge,” recognizing students whose academic research leverages geospatial technologies for meaningful business applications.
Following the enthusiastic response to the inaugural edition and the selection of Quddus Busari as the first awardee for his thesis on AI-powered tree structure analysis using aerial imagery and LiDAR, EAASI continues its mission to bridge academic research with the operational needs of the aerial surveying industry.
“The first edition set a high standard for combining technical innovation with practical relevance,” said EAASI Secretary General Marcos Martínez. “We are excited to see how new voices in academia continue to shape the future of our industry.”
The 2025 award is open to postgraduate students at the Master’s, Doctorate, or Post-Doctoral levels who have submitted their thesis or equivalent project report to a European university in 2023, 2024, or 2025.
Submissions are accepted until August 31, 2025.
The winner of the EAASI Outstanding Thesis Award will receive:
Submissions will be evaluated based on:
The 2024 award went to Quddus Busari for his thesis titled “Building and Validating AI Machine Learning Algorithms for Tree Structure Characterisation from High-Resolution Aerial Images and Lidar Data,” developed in partnership with Bluesky International Ltd. His work contributed to the enhancement of the National Tree Map (NTM) and was praised for demonstrating clear commercial potential in environmental monitoring.
The panel—composed of top-tier academic and industry experts—emphasized how his interdisciplinary work sets a benchmark for the kind of impact-driven innovation the award seeks to celebrate.
The EAASI Outstanding Thesis Award is part of the association’s wider strategy to encourage collaboration between academia and industry, helping to attract new talent, promote applied research, and advance technological progress within the aerial surveying sector.
This initiative is led by the Student and University Engagement Committee, chaired by Simon Musaeus, and reflects EAASI’s vision for a dynamic and future-facing geospatial industry.
For more information and to apply, visit: eaasi.eu/post/eaasi-launches-the-outstanding-thesis-award
Or contact: [email protected]
