NATIONAL PHD COURSE IN EARTH OBSERVATION

Educational goals and objectives

NATIONAL PHD COURSE IN EARTH OBSERVATION

It is well recognized for a while the fundamental importance of the integrated use of Earth Observation (EO), Geomatics and GeoInformation (GGI) and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) methods and tools, aimed at the continuous and global monitoring of our planet, for the benefit of the knowledge and protection of the environment, the safety and sustainable development of territories and productions, the protection of populations and the quality of life on Earth. Most of the approximately 250 indicators defined to represent the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are based on information obtained by integrating EO, GGI and ICT, whose importance is central to the activities of the United Nations initiative on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM). The Copernicus program, coordinated and managed by the European Commission, in collaboration with the Member States, the European Space Agency, the European Environment Agency and some European organizations, falls within this framework. Copernicus is dedicated to offering for free to European and international public authorities, organizations and service providers, not only data from EO and ground sensors but, above all, services based on the information extracted from this data. The fundamental peculiarity of Copernicus is the offer of services officially guided by the needs and requirements of the end users. The primary objective of the National Doctorate in Earth Observation (NDEO) is therefore the training of professional figures with transversal and integrated skills of EO, GGI and ICT, and specific application, administrative and legal skills, able to enhance the already existing services and to design new ones, in close collaboration with actual and potential users. This objective is pursued starting from the broad and consolidated skills in EO, GGI and ICT already available in various Universities and public research Institutes, integrating them with specific skills available in public administrations, public foundations and companies. NDEO, which is fully integrated into the Copernicus Academy permanent education program, develops its training and research activities in the following thematic areas: 1) methodologies, technologies and infrastructures for the acquisition, analysis and management of EO and geospatial data and information; 2) identification, analysis and management of natural and anthropogenic hazards; 3) analysis and management of crisis and emergencies; 4) water cycle and cryosphere, waters and marine and coastal environment; 5) planning and management of the urban environment; 6) agriculture, forests and environmental management of soils; 7) atmosphere, climate and climate change; 8) cultural heritage and landscape; 9) legal and economic aspects of EO and management of geospatial data and information; 10) data mining.