Basics of Earth Observation

The Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) organized the 1^st Training course of TIGER II in the period of 25-29 April 2010, focusing on the ‘Basics of Remote Sensing’. The Regional Center for Training and Water Studies (RCTWS) in 6 October City (Cairo, Egypt) hosted the event. The local organizers, the Nile Basin Capacity Building Network Secretariat contributed largely to the success. Since this was the first course, we aimed at providing an overview of the basic principles and techniques of remote sensing for researchers, students and professionals involved in earth observation in Africa.

Lectures and exercises were combined into a  five-day programme, which covered earth observation principles, satellites, sensors, and in particular: ESA missions, data and tools. The participants also learnt basic image processing techniques, such as radiometric enhancement, geometric correction, classification and change detection, and became acquainted with ESA software tools and resources through hands-on exercises.

Thirty-four participants from all around Africa completed the course and received a certificate of attendance. All the 20 TIGER II Projects and the three Regional Offices sent a representative sponsored by TCBF II, but there were participants, who were attending with the financial help of other sources, like their institutions or even themselves. In this newsletter, you can find interviews with some of the participants.

The preparation was not without excitement: the volcanic eruption in Island caused an air traffic standstill in Europe, so the arrival of the lecturers was at risk till the last moment. Luckily the flights resumed just the day before the start of the course.

Participants of the first training course.