Students from the Department of Geodesy and Geoinformatics at the Faculty of Civil Engineering, University of Sarajevo, Attend the International Summer School TLS-Defo in Bonn
Nadir Katana and Emel Šarvala, second-cycle (master's) students of Geodesy and Geoinformatics at the University of Sarajevo – Faculty of Civil Engineering, participated in the international summer school "TLS-Defo: Advanced Monitoring of Infrastructure," held from 7 to 11 September 2026 at the University of Bonn, Germany. The summer school was organized within the framework of the DFG Research Group FOR 5455 "Deformation Analysis Based on Terrestrial Laser Scanner Measurements (TLS-Defo)" and gathered master's and doctoral students as well as researchers from several countries and related engineering fields.
The program focused on modern infrastructure monitoring methods using terrestrial laser scanning. Through lectures and practical workshops, participants worked on point cloud data acquisition and quality control, compared professional TLS systems with low-budget LiDAR sensors, explored neural methods for geometry representation, and conducted deformation analysis based on point cloud comparisons. A special part of the program included a professional excursion to the Campus Klein-Altendorf, where systems and test areas for the calibration and testing of laser scanners were presented.
As part of poster sessions, participants presented their own research and exchanged experiences with colleagues and professors. Nadir Katana presented his research on the development and analysis of cartographic projections with minimal distortions for railway infrastructure, while Emel Šarvala presented his research on the application of the BeiDou satellite constellation in GNSS RTK measurements in urban canyons. The poster sessions enabled direct professional discussion and the opportunity to receive feedback from participants with diverse research backgrounds.
Participation in the summer school allowed students from the Faculty of Civil Engineering to expand their knowledge in laser scanning, deformation analysis, and geodetic monitoring, while also establishing new contacts with students and researchers from the international academic community. The experiences and materials from the summer school can serve as a foundation for transferring new methods and examples of good practice into student and research work at the Department of Geodesy and Geoinformatics.
The students express their gratitude to the leadership and members of the Council of the University of Sarajevo – Faculty of Civil Engineering for their support and co-financing of their participation in this international summer school. They intend to transfer this knowledge to their colleagues through a workshop, providing current students with insight into the positive aspects of extracurricular activities.
