Conference Proceedings: Strategy Report of CEOS

EO Educational Institutions - An Overiew
A sampling of the many

UN CSSTE-AP, India
cssteap@bel2.vsnl.net.in

The United Nations established the first of the regional Centre for Space Science and Technology Education in Asia and the Pacific (CSSTE-AP) was established in India in November 1995. Its headquarter is located in Dehradun. The objectives of the Centre is to enhance the capabilities of the 55 member states in different areas of space science and technology that can advance their social and economic development.

The Centre is an educational and research institution that is capable of high attainments in the development and transmission of knowledge in the field of space science and technology. The Centre offers Post Graduate level courses in the field of Remote sensing and GIS, Satellite Communication, Satellite Meteorology and Global Climate and Space and Atmospheric Sciences. A set of standard curricula developed by the United Nations is adapted for the educational programmes. The Centre is affiliated to the United Nations and its educational programmes are recognized by Andhra University, India. Apart from above, it conducts many short-term regular courses.

The Centre has already educated/trained around 260 persons from 39 countries of the AP region so far.

ISRO has made available appropriate facility and expertise to the Centre through the Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS), Space Application Centre (SAC) and Physical Research Laboratory (PRL). ISRO has been able to bring in participation from many agencies - ESCAP, EUMETSAT, NOAA, AIT, University of South Wales, CNES/GDTA etc into the Centre's activities.

Still in its initial stages, the Centre is looking for experts and EO education materials in support of its activities. The Centre is willing to serve as a hub for channelising EO technology and applications benefits to the countries in the region.

UN CSSTE-Africa, Morocco/Nigeria
craste@emi.ac.ma

The United Nations established the regional Centre for Space Science and Technology Education in Africa in Morocco and Nigeria in 1998. The Centre offers specialized training programmes for professionals in EO and other disciplines. UN CSSTE-Brazil/Mexico

The United Nations established the regional Centre for Space Science and Technology Education in Latin America in Brazil/Mexico, as a joint institution, Nigeria in 1998. The Centre offers specialized training programmes for professionals in EO and other disciplines.

ITC, The Netherlands
www.itc.nl

At the International Institute for Aerospace Survey and Earth Sciences (ITC), knowledge of geoinformation management is amply available, and continually being developed and extended. By means of education, research and consulting, ITC contributes to capacity building in the developing world. Much attention is given to the transfer of technologies to organizations in developing countries. 'Geoinformation management', 'worldwide' and 'innovative' are our key words. ITC concentrates on earth observation, the generation of spatial information and on the development of data integration methods. ITC provides tools that can support the processes of planning and decision making for sustainable development and the alleviation of poverty in developing countries. ITC has offices in Enschede and Delft.

The ITC educational programme offers 6 degree programmes, leading to PhD, MSc and PM degrees as well as shorter diploma and certificate courses and tailor-made courses. Within those 6 programmes students can specialise themselves in different directions through specialisation and electives modules. ITC's courses are to facilitate a multidisciplinary approach to geo-informatics, land resource surveys, urban sciences and earth and water resource surveys. Major emphasis is placed on remote sensing (RS) and geographic information systems (GIS).

The ITC educational system is international and intended primarily for mid-career professionals and scientists from developing countries. ITC organizes degree courses in Earth Resources and Environmental Geosciences, Geoinformatics, Geo-Information Management, Natural Resources Management, Urban Planning and Land Administration, Water Resources and Environmental Management. ITC offers short-term courses with duration between 1 week and 9 months

ITC carries out interdisciplinary and problem-oriented research that focuses on strengthening organizations involved in survey, management and planning for sustainable development of natural resources. To this end, a problem-oriented multidisciplinary research programmes was defined. Research is carried out by staff members of the institute as well as by students in the PhD programme. Special attention is given to the Integrated Land and Water Information System (ILWIS), which is an important remote sensing and GIS software tool in education and research.

ACRoRS/AIT, Thialand
www.acrors.ait.ac.th

The Asian Center for Research on Remote Sensing (ACRoRS) was established in December 1997 to provide substantial technical support for research on remote sensing and related technologies. ACRoRS is working together with GIS Application Center (GAC) and Space Technology Applications and Research (STAR) Program and focuses the research at AIT. These three components, research by ACRoRS, training by GAC and education by STAR, are sharing resources, experiences and common interests to enhance the effectiveness of each activity. STAR offers master and doctoral study on spatial information technology on remote sensing and GIS. GAC had trained 460 professionals from more than 20 countries as of 1999 in the field of RS/GIS/GPS. This was achieved through the centers such as NASDA, RESTEC, UNDP, FAO, JICA, UNEP-EAP, WHO with their generous financial contributions for conducting training courses. Three types of training program are offered in GAC: Sponsored training programs, Regular training programs, Tailored training programs. Around 13 teaching staffs are dedicated under STAR program.

ISU, Germany
www.isunet.edu

International Space University (ISU) educates and trains international experts and professionals to take the lead in the international space arena. At ISU, all students study all space-related disciplines, vastly broadening their vision and enabling them to understand the complex interactions between disciplines. By approaching the utilization of space from a global perspective, ISU gives its graduates a powerful, competitive edge in the profession. It offers EO education programs in remote sensing and Geographic Information Systems, earth-oriented space applications including telecommunications and Global Positioning systems, space physical sciences including astronomy, the planets and solar-terrestrial, space life sciences, space resources. ISU seeks funding from industry and government agencies for the support of students who are unable to provide the full amount of the fee. To the extent funding is available, ISU is able to offer it to selected applicants. This means that a student does not pay part or all of his/her tuition fees, they are paid to ISU by the funding entity on his/her behalf. A certain allocation of scholarships is reserved for the Member States of the European Space Agency (ESA), developing countries, ISU Affiliates and ISU alumni.

EURISY, France
www.eurisy.asso.fr

The main objective of EURISY is to promote the use of EO data and information to schools. As part of its mission to inform young Europeans, EURISY organizes, among other activities, conferences and seminars targeting secondary school pupils and teaching professionals, in order to improve their knowledge about the use of space technology for observing the Earth and its environment. Around 100 persons per year get trained at this organization in the field of EO.

In 1995, a workshop on "Earth Observation from space as a resource for teaching" was organised by EURISY in Andøya (Norway). Among the recommendations put forward by the participants, several of them suggested actions to be taken at national and at European level for the introduction of Earth Observation in the curricula and the setting up of pilot projects based on the use of space data and techniques as teaching aids. The important issue of training the trainers, as well as the availability of adequate tools and dataset, were also addressed as prerequisites to any progress in the matter.

GDTA, France
www.gdta.fr

GDTA is a French consortium founded in 1973, its role since 1980's has been to promote the general use of satellite-based Remote Sensing (Earth Observation) through a variety of training programmes directed towards professionals from all disciplines.

GDTA trained over the past 20 years: 5257 trainees from 144 different countries (66 % of the total number come from abroad). GDTA worldwide experience will be developed using detailed statistics per region with trends from the last five years in terms of countries involved and market segments. The various types of training activities concurrently developed with the briefly described: specialised post-graduate professional course, catalogue of short courses, customised courses, joint programmes and/or co-operation with national and international training organisations.

IOCCG (1997 - 2000)
vstuart@is.dal.ca

The International Ocean Colour Coordinating Group (IOCCG) was established in 1996 to act as a liaison and communication channel between the users (scientists, managers) and providers (Space Agencies) of satellite ocean-colour data. One of the important objectives of the IOCCG is to broaden the user community for ocean-colour data throughout the world, particularly in developing countries, by offering advanced training courses.

To date, the IOCCG has sponsored and coordinated three specialized ocean-colour training courses, providing comprehensive training to over 130 students from approximately 50 different countries. A further three courses are in the advanced stage of planning. The courses are generally of two weeks duration and are aimed at undergraduate and postgraduate students, university lecturers and researchers. The format consists of lectures by specialists, hands-on exercises, demonstrations and student projects. Lecture sessions cover a range of topics including the theory of radiative transfer (through the atmosphere and upper ocean), bio-optical fundamentals, different remote-sensing platforms, retrieval of chl-a from Case 1 and Case 2 waters, and ocean-colour applications (fisheries management, monitoring coastal zone, harmful algal blooms). Practical sessions introduce students to different software packages for displaying and processing satellite data such as SeaDAS (SeaWiFS), NOOS (OCTS), AVHRR (Sea Surface Temperature), Bilko (educational image-processing software) and the calculation of primary production from satellite data.

IOCCG is working with NATO, NASDA, ISRO, IRD-South Africa for separate forthcoming training programmes in the year 2001. The activities of the IOCCG are funded primarily through the major Space Agencies.