The F2F course of the EO AFRICA R&D Facility will take place in Abidjan 10-14 March in close cooperation with CURAT: Centre Universitaire de Recherche et d’Application en Télédétection, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
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 solution for solving big EO data problems. The EO AFRICA Facility Innovation Lab will be introduced as an example of a cloud computing platform for working with EO data. We will cover Jupyter Notebooks and JupyterLab as the proper solution for developing analytical procedures accompanied by documentation on cloud computing platforms. The course focuses on some of the Python libraries to build programs that handle and analyze EO data. We will explain how participants can programmatically access different EO datasets using online catalogue services and utilize the data in their algorithms. Notably, we describe the key features and recent developments of the openEO platform for EO data analyses. Participants apply the knowledge and skills gained on a final project using EO data available in the Innovation Lab.
This course will provide participants with:
- An understanding of Cloud Computing and its benefits for EO (Earth Observation) analysis.
- A comparison of various cloud computing platforms.
- Hands-on experience with the Innovation Lab, the cloud computing platform offered by the EO AFRICA R&D Facility.
- Hands-on experience with key Python libraries for EO data processing.
- The ability to implement processing workflows through interactive Jupyter Notebooks on the Innovation Lab.
- Knowledge of how to load and process EO data from DIAS platforms.
- The capability to load and process EO data using Python libraries.
- Hands-on experience in implementing Python-based workflows on openEO platform.
CLOUD COMPUTING AND ALGORITHMS FOR EO ANALYSES
CAN I APPLY?
Who can participate?
Prerequisites:
The participants need to have basic programming skills in Python.
Participants will be selected based on their academic background, work experience and motivation to participate. We will strive to have a gender-balanced and country-balanced group of participants. You will receive a confirmation e-mail about selection results and further information by 24 February 2025.
Participants should reside in one of the African countries, should have an academic background related to Geoinformation/Earth Observation Science, Computer Science in combination with knowledge on Water Resources Management, Irrigation, Agriculture, or similar. Experience with the use of cloud environments will be an asset. Young researchers in this field are encouraged to apply!
Registration:
Schedule
Each day will consist of morning and afternoon sessions with total duration of around 7 hours. The sessions will focus on the introduction to the general set-up of the EO AFRICA R&D facility, the cloud computing environment, EO data access, EO data processing using various cloud-based tools including practical hands-on sessions. Participants will be asked to present a short case study related to a selected area of interest. The project will be developed under supervi-sion of trainers.
- Morning session: 8:30 – 13:00 (including coffee break).
- Lunch break: at 13:00 – 14:00.
- Afternoon session: 14:00 – 16:30.
Certificate of Attention
All participants who will complete the course and present their group case study will receive a Certificate of Attention issued by the EO Africa R&D Facility.
Technical requirements
The participants need to have basic programming skills in Python.
Participants are requested to bring their own laptop. Access to the Innovation Lab (EOAFRICA’s cloud computing facility) will be granted prior to the course.
Cost
Attendance to the training course is free of charge.
Participants will need to arrange and pay their own travel, subsistence and accommodation. Lunch and coffee break will be provided during the workshop. The Facility can sponsor up to EUR 200 to cover out of town travel expenses. Local travel cost will not be reimbursed. Accommodation can be arranged if required. Should you want to apply for this funding, please indicate it in the application form. Payment of the 200 Euro (max) will go via bank transfer and will be arranged after completion of the workshop.