About the Authors

Alexander Bruy is a GFOSS advocate and an open source software developer working on the QGIS project. He also maintains a collection of his personal open source projects. He has been working with QGIS since 2006. Now, he is an OSGeo Charter member and QGIS core developer. Currently, Alexander is a freelance GIS developer and works for companies worldwide.

Daria Svidzinska is an associate professor at the physical geography and geoecology department of the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Ukraine. From there, she earned a PhD in geography in 2007. Since then, she has been using FOSS GIS for her research in landscape ecology and spatial planning studies. For the past 5 years, she has been actively involved in academic and professional FOSS GIS teaching and training. In 2014, together with her colleague Alexander Bruy, Daria joined the Geo for All initiative and established an ICA-OSGeo-ISPRS research and education lab at her department (http://lab.osgeo.org.ua/). Its main objective is to promote and enhance education, research, and services in the field of open geospatial science and applications.

I would like to thank my coauthor, Alexander Bruy, for his patience, support, and encouragement. I also thank our reviewers, Werner Macho and Nyall Dawson, for their valuable feedback, and the whole editorial team for making the writing process smooth and efficient.

Special thanks goes to my dear mother for patiently putting up with my long working hours, giving me the inspiration and courage to rise above obstacles and constraints.