I-GUIDE is seeking participants for the 2026 Summer School to be held at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign from July 13-17, 2026  This year’s Summer School theme is “Spatial AI and Convergence Science.”

If you are a graduate student, postdoc, or early-career scholar new to geospatial data science and want to learn more about integrating them into your research, or are already working with data-intensive geospatial science approaches, this Summer School will offer new and exciting opportunities for your professional development, and will help you develop interdisciplinary skills and build new connections with others in related fields.

Want to see more about the types of projects that have been worked on in the past? Descriptions of projects from our 2023, 2024, and 2025 cohorts can be found online.  You can also find recorded presentations from previous Teams in our VCO past sessions collection.

This year's themes include

• Novel applications of spatial AI models
• Environmental hazards and disasters, including floods, extreme heat, or hurricanes
• Social and environmental problems that can benefit from convergence science and AI approaches
• Novel spatial approaches applied to social and environmental contexts

Funding

Through generous support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), all selected participants will receive full support for travel, lodging, and meals during the Summer School week. This includes airfare to and from Illinois if required.

Eligibility Requirements

• Current Status: Open to currently enrolled graduate students, post-doctoral scholars, and early-career scholars (within three years of completing a graduate degree).
• Institutional Affiliation: Applicants must be affiliated with a U.S.-based institution. Due to NSF funding, non-U.S. institutions are ineligible.
• Participation Requirements:
  • Participants must attend in person at UIUC for the full week (Monday July 13 through Friday July 17).
  • No remote participation options will be available.
  • Non-U.S. citizens will need to report their visa status.

Application Process

• Required Documents:
  • A brief statement of interest (maximum 1 page).
  • A current CV (maximum 2 pages).
  • Graduate students and postdocs must submit a letter of recommendation from an advisor or department head.
• Submission Deadline: Applications must be received by Monday, April 20, 2026, at 11:59 pm Pacific time.
• Decision Notification: Applicants will be notified no later than Monday, May 4, 2026.
• Accepted applicants must confirm participation by Monday, May 18, 2026, at 11:59 pm Pacific time.

Ready to apply?  You can find the online form here.

Project Selection

Once projects topics are finalized they will be posted on the website.  Accepted applicants will rank their project preferences and will be notified of their assigned projects prior to the Summer School.