4 to 8 September 2017 / Oostende, Belgium
The classroom phase of the first Copernicus Marine Data Stream full training course was held at the International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange at the Flanders Marine Institute in September. After completing a week-long online phase, participants met in person for five days of practical exercises, including group mind-mapping about the Copernicus programme and data from Sentinel 3 satellite, exploring satellite data using SNAP and BRAT software, and plotting using Python.
Participants were encouraged to direct their own learning by developing and working on mini projects with the trainers. At the end of the week the participants all gave presentations of their work, which covered a diverse range of fascinating case studies — from ice edge dynamics and fisheries modelling for a new start up business, to water quality in Brazil and sea surface height associated with recent hurricane activity. An interactive feedback session gave the training team an excellent opportunity to get feedback on data access, data quality, and future training requirements to build and develop users of the exciting new data coming from Copernicus.