The Future of Earth from Satellites

The Future of Earth from Satellites is designed for early-career professionals and current students interested in geospatial technologies, including: environmental scientists, urban planners, natural resource managers, GIS specialists, data scientists, and researchers working across diverse sectors. It is particularly relevant for those seeking to build knowledge and practical skills in remote sensing for applications such as environmental monitoring, land-use planning, climate analysis, and resource management. Previous experience in Earth observation or remote sensing is not required.

This micro-credential is intended to support participants' career development goals by providing foundational remote sensing knowledge. The course enhances participants' knowledge in the acquisition of spaceborne imagery, image pre-processing and classification, and analysis by providing up‑to‑date, employment-ready skills necessary to meet demands within the expanding fields of geomatics and Earth observation.

The course is delivered in a flexible format over 10 days, combining online synchronous (live, interactive) sessions with asynchronous (self-paced) learning activities. Participants can engage in real-time discussions and demonstrations while also completing readings, recorded lectures, and applied assignments on their own schedule.

By the end of this course, learners should be able to: 

• Explain two fundamental data types utilized in GIS (vector and raster data)
• Identify spaceborne sensors, images, and their characteristics
• Interpret spaceborne images using image interpretation elements 
• Classify satellite imagery to extract meaningful information
• Communicate extracted information in a meaningful way, such as 2D or 3D maps

The development of this micro-credential has been supported by a grant from the Canadian Space Agency with the aim to offer under-represented groups an opportunity to increase their level of applied knowledge in space science and technology and promote their professional development in order to increase equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in Canada's space workforce.