‘Zero Hunger’ is the second of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). All people should have access to safe and sufficient food. Earth observation technology can help achieve this goal. For example, satellite images can assess the vitality of crops on farmland on a large scale. This ensures the early detection of pest infestation or crop failure and enables farmers to take countermeasures.

The many observation satellites that orbit the Earth today produce large quantities of data that is freely available. This data is used in agriculture and disaster management as well as for climate change monitoring. However, the skilled experts who know how to analyse and process this data are often lacking. This is where the EO Connect project (funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research; FKZ: 01DU2000B) comes in: It is aimed at disseminating knowledge about using Earth observation data worldwide and at training as many people as possible.

With stakeholders from universities, space agencies, national institutions and international organizations (NASA, ESA, DLR, EUMETSAT, Dedan Kimathi University of Technology, University of Bonn, Vista GmbH and many more), the Geomatics - Interdisciplinary Geosciences Working Group is developing a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) together with Friedrich Schiller University Jena. Through the MOOC ‘Towards Zero Hunger’, background knowledge and methodological skills on Earth observation technology and its application to increase food security will be taught on the learning platform EO College in a modern, non-linear environment. In doing so, EO Connect also promotes networking among the involved Earth observation stakeholders.

Go to the course here: Link