The UCGIS Innovation in GIScience Education Award was first offered in 2020, and will continue to be offered in even-numbered years. The award was designed for individuals who have contributed outstanding innovations to GIScience education. The award is intended to recognize innovative contributions of both national and international significance to GIScience education. GIS education innovations may include, but are not limited to:

• Implementing new ways to be inclusive and equitable in GIS Education, including access to geospatial technologies, including desktop, cloud, or high-performance computing.
• Developing innovative learning techniques (online and/or in classrooms or beyond).
• Enabling students to analyze new types of geospatial data or use emerging geospatial technologies (for example, mining geospatial content in social media, using cyberinfrastructure, or collecting data using drones).
• Developing opportunities that enable students to create rapid turn-around results to meet pressing community needs (e.g., developing protocols and strategies that allow students to quickly assist non-profit organizations or government entities in local emergencies)
• Creating curricula or coursework that embed opportunities for GIS students to participate in finding solutions to global crises (e.g., disease outbreaks, refugee crises, UN Sustainable Environment Goals, or Wicked Problems).
• Equipping GIS students to effectively disseminate authoritative geospatial scientific findings regarding complex societal issues (e.g., through training in science communication or visualization).