In order to promote the research of spatial social sciences and the development of international cooperation, Wuhan University has worked with the world-famous universities, such as the University of Chicago, and established the GeoComputation Center for Social Sciences. The core members of the joint center include the State Key Laboratory of information engineering in Surveying, Mapping and Remote Sensing of Wuhan University, the Center for Spatial Data Science in the University of Chicago, and the China Data Center in the University of Michigan. The State Key Laboratory was established in 1989. It is a first-class scientific research institution in the field of geospatial information throughout the country and in the world. The Center for Spatial Data Science in the University of Chicago was established in 2015. It has an international leading position in the field of spatial statistical model research and system development. Prof. Luc Anselin, the center director, is an internationally renowned academic leader in the field of spatial statistics and econometric models. He was elected academician of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2011.

The establishment of the GeoComputation Center for Social Sciences can take advantage of research in the field of spatial science of Wuhan University, and promote the scientific research on the theory and method of spatial data in scientific research, personnel training, international cooperation and social practice in the popularization and application. It also contributes to the world first-class discipline construction of Wuhan University.