Blog

EO AFRICA R&D Forum 2026 – Achievement and Future Pathways

2026-01-04 EO AFRICA R&D FORUM 2026 – Achievement and Future Pathways 25–27 May 2026 | University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania An ESA-funded initiative, this forum highlights cutting-edge research and innovation within Africa’s food-water nexus, showcasing how Earth Observation supports sustainable [Read more...]

EO AFRICA R&D Facility in 2025: A Year of Training, Research, and Community building

2025-12-18 Following the format established in since 2021, throughout 2025 the ESA-funded EO AFRICA R&D Facility played a key role in strengthening the knowledge and skills of African colleagues in Earth Observation (EO) and in fostering collaboration between African and European researchers. [Read more...]

22nd on the EO AFRICA R&D Facility Webinar Series is now available in our YouTube channel

2025-10-28 The 22nd Webinar on the EO AFRICA R&D Facility Webinar Series is now available in our YouTube channel: Combining Optical and SAR Data for Mapping Water Bodies and Floods This webinar discusses an approach for integrating Sentinel-2 (optical) and Sentinel-1 [Read more...]

Announcing the EO AFRICA R&D Research Projects – Awarded Proposals (Fourth Call)

2025-08-19 Following the successful first three rounds of calls for research proposals, the EO AFRICA R&D Facility, in coordination with the European Space Agency (ESA) and the African Union Commission (AUC), launched in Apr 2025 a 4^th call for proposals. The aim of this call is to extend the support to African-European collaborative research efforts in the domain of EO applications. [Read more...]

Call to contribute to advancing urban climate research in Africa

2025-08-08 The CAIAC (Climate Analysis in African Cities) project is an international collaboration between the Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), the African Centre of Meteorological Applications for Development (ACMAD), and the University of Ottawa, with support from the European Space Agency (ESA). [Read more...]

21st on the EO AFRICA R&D Facility Webinar Series is now available in our YouTube channel

2025-05-13 The 21st Webinar on the EO AFRICA R&D Facility Webinar Series is now available in our YouTube channel: Deriving Water Quality Indicators and Indices from Sentinel-2 Using Cloud Computing The webinar explores the methodologies for deriving water quality indicators from [Read more...]

20th on the EO AFRICA R&D Facility Webinar Series is now available in our YouTube channel

2025-05-13 The 20th Webinar on the EO AFRICA R&D Facility Webinar Series is now available in our YouTube channel: Using the new H SAF 6.25km ASCAT soil moisture data for drought monitoring The ASCAT soil moisture service, offered by EUMETSAT, is [Read more...]

Advisory Board Announcement

2025-04-24 We are pleased to announce that Professor Abel Ramoelo, Executive Director of Earth Observation at the South African National Space Agency (SANSA), has joined our Advisory Board. [Read more...]

19th on the EO AFRICA R&D Facility Webinar Series is now available in our YouTube channel

2025-04-09 The 19th Webinar on the EO AFRICA R&D Facility Webinar Series is now available in our YouTube channel: Mapping Our Planet in High Resolution: Advancing Land Cover and Degradation Monitoring with Sentinel Data This webinar introduces the fundamentals of PolInSAR [Read more...]

18th on the EO AFRICA R&D Facility Webinar Series is now available in our YouTube channel

2025-03-26 The 18th Webinar on the EO AFRICA R&D Facility Webinar Series is now available in our YouTube channel: Mapping Our Planet in High Resolution: Advancing Land Cover and Degradation Monitoring with Sentinel Data This webinar explores how these innovations, coupled [Read more...]

8th on the EO AFRICA R&D Facility Second Phase Online Courses

The course is open for applicants from AFRICA only

Satellite remote sensing of air quality

May 25 - June 19, 2026 Online course with live-chat The topic of this course is Atmospheric composition, processing and applications. The course focuses on detection of the composition of the lower atmosphere from space: methods, data, tools and applications. https://www.eoafrica-rd.org/space-academy/on-line-courses-rdf2/online-course-on-satellite-remote-sensing-of-air-quality/

8th 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 Modern Tools for River Monitoring

May 18 - 22, 2026 Dar es Salaam, Tanzania A 5-day training course (6-8 hours per day), combining theoretical lectures and hands-on exercises to enhance your knowledge of modern tools for river monitoring. https://www.eoafrica-rd.org/space-academy/face-to-face-courses-rdf2/face-to-face-course-on-modern-tools-for-river-monitoring/

7th on the EO AFRICA R&D Facility Second Phase Online Courses

The course is open for applicants from AFRICA only

Food Security Studies using EO

March 23 - April 17, 2026 Online course with live-chat This course will explore the potential of monitoring agricultural systems in near-real time and assessing food security conditions across scales, from local production systems to national and regional contexts. https://www.eoafrica-rd.org/space-academy/on-line-courses-rdf2/online-course-on-food-security-studies-using-eo/

7th 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 SAR Polarimetry and Interferometry

March 16 - 20, 2026 Kampala, Uganda A 5-day training course (6 hours per day), combining theoretical lectures and hands-on exercises to enhance your knowledge of radar polarimetry and interferometry. https://www.eoafrica-rd.org/space-academy/face-to-face-courses-rdf2/face-to-face-course-on-sar-polarimetry-and-interferometry/

6th 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 Earth Observation for Marine and Coastal Resource Applications

December 14 - 18, 2025 Alexandria, Egypt A 5-day training course (6 hours per day), combining theoretical lectures and hands-on exercises to enhance your understanding and practical skills in using satellite data for marine resources monitoring. https://www.eoafrica-rd.org/space-academy/face-to-face-courses-rdf2/face-to-face-course-on-earth-observation-for-marine-and-coastal-resource-applications/

22nd on the EO AFRICA R&D Facility Webinar Series

Combining optical and SAR data for mapping water bodies and floods

Wednesday, 15 October 2025, 14:00 CEST (UTC + 2) Online webinar with live-chat This webinar will discuss an approach for integrating Sentinel-2 (optical) and Sentinel-1 (SAR) water maps that was inspired by the Copernicus Global Flood Monitoring service, which combines flood likelihood maps from different SAR algorithms into an ensemble flood product. https://www.eoafrica-rd.org/space-academy/webinars/#webinar22

5th 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

December 1 - 5, 2025 Tunis, Tunisia 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-part-2/

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

The course is open for applicants from AFRICA only

Low-resolution EO for drought monitoring

November 10 - December 5, 2025 Online course with live-chat This course will explore the potential of the temporal dimension of low-resolution satellite EO data for monitoring such dynamics over longer periods of time. https://www.eoafrica-rd.org/space-academy/on-line-courses-rdf2/online-course-on-low-resolution-eo-for-drought-monitoring/

21st on the EO AFRICA R&D Facility Webinar Series

Deriving Water Quality Indicators and Indices from Sentinel-2 Using Cloud Computing

Wednesday, 23 April 2025, 14:00 CEST (UTC + 2) Online webinar with live-chat This webinar explores the methodologies for deriving water quality indicators from Sentinel-2 data using cloud computing. https://www.eoafrica-rd.org/space-academy/webinars/#webinar21

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

The course is open for applicants from AFRICA only

PolInSAR Processing and Applications

May 26 - June 20, 2025 Online course with live-chat This online course equips participants with a fundamental knowledge of PolInSAR processing and application concepts. During the course participants will refresh their knowledge of principles and properties of SAR remote sensing and SAR images interpretation. https://www.eoafrica-rd.org/space-academy/on-line-courses-rdf2/online-course-on-polinsar-processing-and-applications/

🚨Still possible to register... don't miss it... https://t.co/h5C2XiTrnV pic.twitter.com/Pn4Q239BQZ
— EO AFRICA R&D Facility (@EOAfricaRD1) February 11, 2026

📢 Invitation: @EOAfricaRD1 FORUM 2026 – 𝗔𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 & 𝗙𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀

📍 Dar es Salaam | 🗓️ May 25–27, 2026

We will bring together experts from #Africa & #Europe, showcasing how #EO supports water & food security in #Africa. https://t.co/dDo64Hgd0e
— EO AFRICA R&D Facility (@EOAfricaRD1) January 19, 2026

📢 More @EOAfricaRD1 training on-site, this time in #Egypt 🇪🇬: #EO for #Marine & #Coastal applications
🗓️Dec 14-18, 2025
📍Coastal Research Institute - Alexandria, Egypt.

Applications open at: https://t.co/L1hVnxMz0i @EO_OPEN_SCIENCE pic.twitter.com/pQ2xWhLvd2
— EO AFRICA R&D Facility (@EOAfricaRD1) October 6, 2025

New @EOAfricaRD1 on-line training on#Lowresolution #EO for #drought monitoring

🗓️November 10 – December 5, 2025

‼️DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS: October 20, 2025‼️https://t.co/dSbf9ph3S4

Course includes videos, lectures, quizzes, and practical exercises @EO_OPEN_SCIENCE pic.twitter.com/TsYswEXLl4
— EO AFRICA R&D Facility (@EOAfricaRD1) September 23, 2025

📢 The 2nd Edition of the @EOAfricaRD1 training on #CloudComputing for #EO analyses (this time in #Tunisia 🇹🇳 @OSS_Comms) on Dec 1-5, 2025 is open for applications:

https://t.co/AirUzyieTI

‼️🗓️Deadline for applications : Oct 27, 2025 ‼️@EO_OPEN_SCIENCE pic.twitter.com/2HvgGPjPJn
— EO AFRICA R&D Facility (@EOAfricaRD1) September 23, 2025

3rd edition of the DLR/ESA open PolInSAR training course

3rd edition of the DLR/ESA open PolInSAR training course | May 2 – July 8, 2022 | Online | Great opportunity to understand multi-parameter SAR data: The DLR-HR PolinSAR course offers a comprehensive training on SAR-based technics (PolSAR, InSAR, PolISAR, TomoSAR). This will be also an excellent opportunity for the users of our Innovation Lab to practice the cloud-based computing skills learnt, with a different platform. Places are limited but members of the EO AFRICA Community are particularly encouraged to apply.

3rd on the EO AFRICA R&D Facility Face to Face Courses

Face to Face course on Cloud Computing and Algorithms for EO Analyses | Date: CANCELED | Royal Hôtel Rabat, Rabat, Morocco | Introduction to Cloud Computing and its usage for Earth Observation (EO) data analyses.

4th on the EO AFRICA R&D Facility Webinar Series is now available in our YouTube channel

The 4th Webinar on the EO AFRICA R&D Facility Webinar Series is now available in our YouTube channel: Evapotranspiration from space This webinar is devoted to evapotranspiration (ET) monitoring with Earth Observation (EO) satellites. The webinar has the following parts:

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

Face to Face course on Earth Observations for Water Resources Assessment and Monitoring | May 15–19, 2022 | Erata Hotel, Accra, Ghana | Introduction to cloud-based image analysis techniques for surface water resources assessment and monitoring with a focus on surface water bodies and wetland dynamics.

3rd on the EO AFRICA R&D Facility Webinar Series is now available in our YouTube channel

The 3rd Webinar on the EO AFRICA R&D Facility Webinar Series is now available in our YouTube channel: Software Tools for Earth Observation analyses This webinar provides an overview of existing open-source tools for processing data coming from different satellite

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

Water and Energy budgets from Space | April 18 – May 13, 2022 | Online course with live-chat | Satellite Earth observation, hydro-meteorological modelling and data assimilation provide a powerful combination for quantifying hydroclimatic variables to effectively address water management issues in this online course, an introduction will be given to the theory and techniques to observe the water and energy cycle variables form space.

5th on the EO AFRICA R&D Facility Webinar Series

Introduction to Precipitation from Space | April 20, 2022, 14:00 CET | Online webinar with live-chat | This webinar introduces rainfall observations obtained from satellites using the visible, thermal infrared and microwave parts of the electromagnetic spectrum and blending routines applied, using qualitative and quantitative approaches.

4th on the EO AFRICA R&D Facility Webinar Series

Evapotranspiration from space | March 25, 2022, 14:00 CET | Online webinar with live-chat | This webinar is devoted to evapotranspiration (ET) monitoring with Earth Observation (EO) satellites.

2nd on the EO AFRICA R&D Facility Webinar Series is now available in our YouTube channel

The 2nd Webinar on the EO AFRICA R&D Facility Webinar Series is now available in our YouTube channel: Access to Earth Observation This webinar aims to present which Earth Observation datasets are accessible via Data and Information Access Services (DIAS)

3rd on the EO AFRICA R&D Facility Webinar Series

Software Tools for Earth Observation analyses | March 10, 2022, 14:00 CET | Online webinar with live-chat | This webinar provides an overview of existing open-source tools for processing data coming from different satellite missions with a main focus on Copernicus missions’ products.