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Key Takeaways for GEOINT Symposium 2025
- Event returns to America’s Center in Downtown St. Louis May 18-21
- St. Louis continues to expand geospatial innovation and workforce & talent development programs
- Region’s geospatial ecosystem seeing growth in cross-sector collaboration
- “Geospatial innovation is STLMade”
ST. LOUIS – With the new National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency St. Louis headquarters set to open north of Downtown later this year, St. Louis will once again showcase the region’s leadership as the country’s center of geospatial technology to industry leaders from around the globe as they return for GEOINT Symposium 2025. GEOINT Symposium, put on each year by the U.S. Geospatial Intelligence Foundation, will take place at America’s Center in Downtown St. Louis May 18-21.
“We are excited to once again host the nation’s largest gathering of geospatial industry professionals here in St. Louis. Everyone attending GEOINT Symposium will see St. Louis is a thriving geospatial community where everyone collaborates and supports one another so that we can continue our growth as the country’s center for geospatial technology,” said Maggie Kost, Chief Business Attraction Officer for Greater St. Louis, Inc., which leads the GeoFutures Initiative to advance St. Louis’ geospatial sector.
“This year, we’ll get to celebrate the opening of NGA St. Louis, showcase the growing connection of our geospatial sector to other industries and our emergence as a national hub for defense tech, and make clear to everyone in attendance that geospatial innovation is STLMade.”
GROWTH IN CROSS-SECTOR COLLABORATION
The geospatial sector on its own has seen tremendous growth in St. Louis over the past several years, with major geospatial firms locating and expanding in St. Louis in response to the new NGA St. Louis expansion. Additionally:
- The Taylor Geospatial Institute was established to be a premier research institution helping to develop new applications for geospatial science and the Taylor Geospatial Engine was established to assist in commercializing new geospatial technologies.
- Project Connect launched, helping to build greater connections between the geospatial sector and the neighborhoods in which the NGA’s new facility will be located.
- A number of higher education and workforce development providers have established programs and curricula to grow the talent pipeline for St. Louis’ geospatial industry.
- NGA established Moonshot Labs in T-REX, which serves as an unclassified space for the agency to collaborate with other partners in the academic, public and private sector.
St. Louis’ geospatial sector has also grown through cross-sector collaboration with the region’s other thriving industry sectors, particularly agtech and biosciences. St. Louis’ expertise in geospatial technologies – including location science, smart devices, remote imaging and sensing, AI, and machine learning – has accelerated innovation in plant sciences and precision farming and put the St. Louis region on the map as one of America’s rapidly growing centers for innovation that brings together agriculture and plant science, food security, and geospatial technology to research and develop solutions to some of the country’s and world’s most pressing challenges.
ST. LOUIS EMERGING AS AMERICA’S HUB FOR DEFENSE TECH
St. Louis is also well-positioned to become the country’s center for defense tech, with congressional passage last year of the National Geospatial Innovation Hub Advancement Act as part of the National Defense Authorization Act.
In advance of the legislation’s passage, its sponsor, U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt, hosted a roundtable meeting in St. Louis with geospatial industry leaders to unveil his plan for the program, which would develop a skilled workforce in geospatial technologies, methodologies, and capabilities to support the defense intelligence requirements of the Department of Defense. The pilot program, potentially housed at NGA St. Louis, is designed to attract more talent to St. Louis and establish St. Louis as a hub for defense technology.
GEOINT IN ST. LOUIS, ST. LOUIS @ GEOINT
GEOINT attendees can visit the St. Louis team at the STLMade booth (booth #1131) inside the Greater St. Louis Pavillion – a central location where several geospatial companies with a St. Louis presence will come together, highlighting the breadth of the region’s geospatial ecosystem. There they can speak with subject matter experts on workforce development, business attraction, startup support, and the Taylor Geospatial Institute about the continued growth of St. Louis’ geospatial sector and the opportunities available here.
St. Louis will also be represented on stage at GEOINT Symposium, with several STLMade presenters and panelists featured, including Congressman Wesley Bell (1st District-Mo.); Robert Cardillo, Former NGA Director, Chairman of the Taylor Geospatial Institute; and Tara Mott, Esri Account Manager for NGA.
The full agenda for GEOINT Symposium 2025 is available here.
MEDIA REGISTRATION
Members of the media who would like to cover GEOINT Symposium 2025 are able to register with USGIF, the event’s sponsor. Please contact Press Room Manager Kevin Corbley at (720) 326-8654 or email GEOINTPressRoom@usgif.org for information on how to get credentials.
NOTE TO MEDIA: clips of GSL Chief Business Attraction Officer Maggie Kost speaking about GEOINT and delivering the quotes in paragraphs 2 and 3 of this release are available here (.mp4 files).
Media Contact: Tony Wyche | 314-398-9991 | Tony@GreaterSTLInc.com