ITC was founded in 1950 with the name "International Training Centre for Aerial Survey" by the former Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Prof. Dr. Willem Schermerhorn to provide training in map making as an aid to developing countries.

Over the years its mission has been adjusted to changing technological and development realities, so that today it offers MSc, Master's, Diploma and Certificate courses in Geo-information Science (GIS) and Earth Observation (EO) with emphasis on applications in developing countries.

In addition, ITC undertakes applied and technological consultancy projects worldwide and contributes to fundamental research in the fields of its expertise.

ITC offers degree, diploma and certificate courses in geo-information science and earth observation applied to eight domains: Disaster management; Earth sciences; Geoinformatics; Governance; Land administration; Natural resources; Urban planning; and Water resources.

ITC has several joint educational programmes with partner institutes in the developing world, for example joint MSc programmes in geoinformatics with the Indian Institute of Remote Sensing in Dehradun, India and Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.