Education and Training in Applied Remote Sensing in Africa: The ARCSSTE-E Experience

Abstract

In Africa, there is growing knowledge regarding the use of data obtained by remote sensing and analysed while using Geographic Information Systems for solving myriad problems. The awareness has largely arisen through the efforts of the Programme on Space Applications (PSA) of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), and the subsequent UN resolutions for the establishment of Regional Centres for Space Science and Technology Education, to train scientists and researchers in different thematic areas of space, including Remote Sensing/Geographic Information Systems (RS/GIS). The African Regional Centre for Space Science and Technology Education in English (ARCSSTE-E) is one of these regional centres. The Centre has successfully trained 474 professionals from 18 countries since its inception in 1998; about 14% of these trainees have been female. This paper highlights the training programmes of ARCSSTE-E from its inception, and discusses the potential areas of improvement with a focus on the RS/GIS area. In 2019, a survey was conducted on alumni of the Postgraduate Diploma (PGD) programme of ARCSSTE-E. Based on the analysis of their responses and the progression of the PGD programme to a new Masters programme in RS/GIS at the university, there is clear evidence regarding the impact of the UNOOSA-assisted capacity building programme on the work and career of alumni, which has already produced an appreciable number of trained personnel in developing countries in Africa.