Blog

16th on the EO AFRICA R&D Facility Webinar Series is now available in our YouTube channel

2024-11-05 The 16th Webinar on the EO AFRICA R&D Facility Webinar Series is now available in our YouTube channel: Flood extent assessment in East Africa with Sentinel-2 data A few months ago, East Africa faced the consequences of weeks of heavy [Read more...]

African Research Fellowships: Call 2024/2025

2024-10-01 We are pleased to announce the 2024-2025 AUC-ESA call that will offer 1-year fellowships to 4 new African Researchers to work at the ESA-ESRIN premises in Frascati (Rome, Italy) in synergy with ESA projects and scientists. More information here: https://eo4society.esa.int/2024/09/23/african-research-fellowships-call-2024-2025/ [Read more...]

EO AFRICA R&D Facility Advisory Board

2024-08-22 The following four experts from prestigious African organizations have accepted our invitation to become members of the EO AFRICA R&D Facility Advisory Board. They will have a major role in safeguarding the quality and scope of our activities and ensure [Read more...]

EO AFRICA R&D Facility – The Second Phase

2024-06-25 Exciting opportunities for more collaboration! The EO AFRICA R&D Facility Consortium is delighted to announce that, after a positive evaluation of the first phase (2021-2024), the European Space Agency has granted the Facility an extension of 3 years, allowing us [Read more...]

EO for Africa Symposium 2024

2024-04-22 The EO AFRICA R&D Facility is glad to inform that the deadline to submit abstracts for the first ESA EO 4 for Africa Symposium has been extended to the 30 of April 2024. [Read more...]

15th on the EO AFRICA R&D Facility Webinar Series is now available in our YouTube channel

2024-01-17 The 15th Webinar on the EO AFRICA R&D Facility Webinar Series is now available in our YouTube channel: Accessing cloud services using openEO and additional data processing capabilities offered by ILWISPy The EO Africa program has been making use of [Read more...]

Publishing opportunity

2024-01-08 For publishing Africa-oriented EO research results, we are editing a special issue of the International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation: African EO Challenges and Solutions in Water Scarcity and Food Security – Mapping the Environment We encourage our [Read more...]

New research gap survey

2023-12-20 To support the development of the roadmap of the EO AFRICA R&D Facility for 2024-2026 We launched a questionnaire in 2021, which helped define the user needs of the African EO community. Our scientific field is developing very quickly, so [Read more...]

14th on the EO AFRICA R&D Facility Webinar Series is now available in our YouTube channel

2023-12-15 The 14th Webinar on the EO AFRICA R&D Facility Webinar Series is now available in our YouTube channel: Crop mapping in Zankalon, Egypt using different ML classifiers in Python Accurate information about agriculture and crops is essential for informed decision-making [Read more...]

13th on the EO AFRICA R&D Facility Webinar Series is now available in our YouTube channel

2023-12-06 The 13th Webinar on the EO AFRICA R&D Facility Webinar Series is now available in our YouTube channel: Parcel-based crop monitoring from space The ever-increasing spatial resolution offered by the newest generation of satellite sensors allows us to monitor agricultural [Read more...]

3rd on the EO AFRICA R&D Facility Second Phase Online Courses

The course is open for applicants from AFRICA only

EO for Marine and Coastal Resources Applications (EO4COAST)

January 27 - February 21, 2025 Online course with live-chat This online course aims to provide the participants with the competence to use Earth Observation (EO) data and products to leverage the management of marine and coastal aquatic resources and policymaking. https://www.eoafrica-rd.org/space-academy/on-line-courses-rdf2/eo-for-marine-and-coastal-resources-applications-eo4coast/

2nd on the EO AFRICA R&D Facility Second Phase Face to Face Courses

The course is open for applicants from AFRICA only!

Face to Face course on Cloud Computing and Algorithms for EO Analyses

January 20 - 24, 2025 Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire A 5-day course (6h per day), covering Cloud Computing and big geospatial data concepts, interactive computing with Python through Jupyter Notebooks, and access to EO data from DIAS platforms or via dedicated Python libraries and handling the data on the Cloud. https://www.eoafrica-rd.org/space-academy/face-to-face-courses-rdf2/face-to-face-course-on-cloud-computing-and-algorithms-for-eo-analyses/

17th on the EO AFRICA R&D Facility Webinar Series

Advances in EO Cloud Computing: OpenEO

Wednesday, 4 December 2024, 14:00 CET (UTC+1) Online webinar with live-chat This webinar explores the growing role of cloud computing in analyzing and processing Earth Observation (EO) data, with a primary focus on OpenEO. OpenEO is a relatively new and innovative initiative to connect to EO cloud back-ends in a simple and unified way. The project maintains the API and process specifications, and an open-source ecosystem with clients and server implementations. https://www.eoafrica-rd.org/space-academy/webinars/#webinar17

2nd on the EO AFRICA R&D Facility Second Phase Online Courses

The course is open for applicants from AFRICA only

Cloud Computing and algorithms for EO analyses

November 11 - December 2, 2024 Online course with live-chat This course introduces participants to Cloud Computing and its usage for Earth Observation (EO) data analyses. It starts with big geospatial data concepts and extends to Cloud Computing as one of the solutions for solving the problems of big EO data. https://www.eoafrica-rd.org/space-academy/on-line-courses-rdf2/cloud-computing-and-algorithms-for-eo-analyses/

1st on the EO AFRICA R&D Facility Second Phase Face to Face Courses

The course is open for applicants from AFRICA only!

Face to Face course on Cloud-based EO image analysis for monitoring surface water dynamics

October 21 - 25, 2024 Maseru, Lesotho Introduction to cloud-based image analysis techniques for monitoring surface water dynamics with use of EO data. It will cover general concepts of radar and optical remote sensing, how those instruments interact with water surface and which information they can provide. https://www.eoafrica-rd.org/space-academy/face-to-face-courses-rdf2/face-to-face-course-on-cloud-based-eo-image-analysis-for-monitoring-surface-water-dynamics/

16th on the EO AFRICA R&D Facility Webinar Series

Flood extent assessment in East Africa with Sentinel-2 data

Wednesday, 11 September 2024 15:00 CEST (GMT+2) Online webinar with live-chat In this webinar we’ll utilize commonly used methods to assess the extent of selected flooded area in East Africa. Presented techniques will include calculation of water radiometric indices from optical Sentinel-2 bands (e.g. MNDWI, NDWI2, SWM) to assess the water extent and change detection in selected area. https://www.eoafrica-rd.org/space-academy/webinars/#webinar16

1st on the EO AFRICA R&D Facility Second Phase Online Courses

The course is open for applicants from AFRICA only

Principles of and advances in Earth Observation

September 16 - October 11, 2024 Online course with live-chat This online course equips participants with fundamental knowledge in Earth Observation (EO) to enhance their understanding and utilization of EO data. The course primarily focuses on optical data, exploring their advantages and limitations. Additionally, active remote sensing concepts are introduced. https://www.eoafrica-rd.org/space-academy/on-line-courses-rdf2/principles-of-and-advances-in-earth-observation/

15th on the EO AFRICA R&D Facility Webinar Series

Accessing cloud services using openEO and additional data processing capabilities offered by ILWISPy

Tuesday, 9 January, 2024, 11:00 CET (GMT+1) Online webinar with live-chat This webinar starts with the use of the Innovation Lab in conjunction with openEO / ILWISPy to access and process also data obtained from other cloud based data repositories. https://www.eoafrica-rd.org/space-academy/webinars/#webinar15

10th on the EO AFRICA R&D Facility Online Courses

The course is open for applicants from AFRICA only

Surface Flood Modelling Supported by Cloud-Based RS GIS

January 29 - February 23, 2024 Online course with live-chat Optical imagery supports a more natural identification of water bodies and digital elevation models add to the identification of potential flood areas. This course will review all these concepts and add a foundational but complete layer on surface water modelling using a full 2D version of HECRAS free software. https://www.eoafrica-rd.org/space-academy/on-line-courses/surface-flood-modelling-supported-by-cloud-based-rs-gis/

Registration is open for Face to Face course on Parcel-based Crop Monitoring from Space

The course is open for applicants from AFRICA only!

Face to Face course on Parcel-based Crop Monitoring from Space

January 22 - 26, 2024 Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar, Dakar, Senegal Get ready to take part in this 5-day training with colleagues from all over the continent and learn how to tackle the challenges of Food Security by exploiting high resolution satellite observations to monitor crop production at individual field scale. The course consists of presentations and practical exercises in Python. https://www.eoafrica-rd.org/space-academy/face-to-face-courses/face-to-face-course-on-parcel-based-crop-monitoring-from-space/

Last month in Maseru, Lesotho:
F2F course on "Cloud-based Earth Observation (#EO) image analysis for monitoring surface #water dynamics", brought together 35 participants from #Zimbabwe, #Kenya, #Zambia, #Botswana, #Mozambique, #Lesotho, #SouthAfrica , & #Malawi 🌍🧑🏾‍🎓👩🏾‍🎓 pic.twitter.com/7DbLne1twx
— EO AFRICA R&D Facility (@EOAfricaRD1) November 20, 2024

Leveraging #EO 🛰️is a key enabler for #Africa. A healthy community of African scholars, policy makers, and active communities is needed to implement the @_AfricanUnion vision presented at #COP29. To that end @EOAfricaRD1 is building on #training, & collaborative #research https://t.co/hiNZMzIyC6
— EO AFRICA R&D Facility (@EOAfricaRD1) November 20, 2024

🔊This @EOAfricaRD1 #webinar has been re-scheduled!

🗓️Dec 04, 14h00 CET

Registrations at: https://t.co/fsOa6Fg2qh #CloudComputing #EO #OpenEO @EO_OPEN_SCIENCE pic.twitter.com/CwVvVTcpbo
— EO AFRICA R&D Facility (@EOAfricaRD1) October 26, 2024

👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 https://t.co/35PVdSq4Rh
— EO AFRICA R&D Facility (@EOAfricaRD1) October 26, 2024

African Research Fellowships Call 2023

We are pleased to announce the 2023 AUC-ESA call that will offer 1-year fellowships to 4 new African Researchers to work at the ESA-ESRIN premises in Frascati (Rome, Italy) in synergy with ESA projects and scientists. More information here: https://eo4society.esa.int/2022/12/02/arf2023/

Registration is open for Face to Face course on Cloud Computing and Algorithms for EO Analyses

Face to Face course on Cloud Computing and Algorithms for EO Analyses | October 17 – 21, 2023 | Kigali, Rwanda | This course introduces participants to Cloud Computing and its usage for Earth Observation (EO) data analyses. It starts with big geospatial data concepts and extends to Cloud Computing as one of the solutions for solving the problems of big EO data.

9th on the EO AFRICA R&D Facility Webinar Series

Global flood monitoring and Surface Soil Moisture anomalies | February 14, 2023, 14:00 CET | Online webinar with live-chat | The webinar will describe ways to monitor flood events and surface soil moisture on a global scale, using microwave Earth Observation data. Current research topics will be described that are relevant for use cases in Africa (e.g. subsurface scattering in arid regions). The validation of flood monitoring and of soil moisture products will be discussed.

8th on the EO AFRICA R&D Facility Webinar Series

fPAR as a Proxy for Yield Estimation/Forecasting | January 23, 2023, 14:00 CET | Online webinar with live-chat | The webinar provides a biological basis for crop yield estimation and within-season forecasting with Earth observation image data. We facilitate the introduction with a “big leaf” approach to light-use efficiency. Big leaf models assume canopies are homogenous and the response of the canopy to light is linear.

7th on the EO AFRICA R&D Facility Webinar Series is now available in our YouTube channel

The 7th Webinar on the EO AFRICA R&D Facility Webinar Series is now available in our YouTube channel: Flood Mapping with Sentinel-1 data This webinar will focus on the importance and use of Sentinel-1 SAR data for flood mapping. With

6th on the EO AFRICA R&D Facility Online Courses

Soil Moisture from Space | March 6 – 31, 2023 | Online course with live-chat | This online course will provide participants with the necessary theoretical and practical knowledge on electromagnetic radiation and its interaction with materials, (passive) radiometry and thermal emission, and (active) radar equation, backscattering and SAR image processing. It will introduce radiative transfer model (also called Tau-omega for passive microwave for land) and water-cloud model (active), as well as corresponding retrievals of soil moisture.

5th on the EO AFRICA R&D Facility Online Courses

Hyper-Temporal Mapping of Agro-Ecosystems & Assessing Land Suitability | February 6 – March 3, 2023 | Online course with live-chat | From early 2000 onwards, the availability of high-quality Hyper-Temporal (HT) EO, has created an enormous number of additional possibilities to map and detect changes as required to monitor impacts. Use of the dimensions “space & time” now lets us study and work on issues that earlier remained “out-of-reach” and remained “unanswered”.

6th on the EO AFRICA R&D Facility Face to Face Courses

Face to Face course on Vegetation and Drought Monitoring from Space | January 23 – 27, 2023 | CRASTE-LF, Rabat, Morocco | A 5-day training to learn how to tackle the challenges of Food Security by exploiting satellite observations to monitor the occurrence and impacts of droughts on agricultural productivity at various spatial scales.

October 2022, EO Africa R&D Facility events

October 2022 was a busy month for the EO AFRICA R&D Facility, have a look at our activities during that month:

7th on the EO AFRICA R&D Facility Webinar Series

Flood Mapping with Sentinel-1 data | December 6, 2022, 14:00 CET | Online webinar with live-chat | This webinar will focus on the importance and use of Sentinel-1 SAR data for flood mapping. With Sentinel-1 SAR data, we can map and analyse the affected flooded areas over a region, that may be not easily accessible, and even compare them with the official flood maps available.