In view of the rising number of imaging spectrometers deployed on airborne platforms and the launch of spaceborne imaging spectroscopy missions, an increasing need for Earth observation education and training activities with a focus on hyperspectral imagery is becoming apparent.
Therefore, the development of HYPERedu, an online learning initiative for hyperspectral remote sensing hosted on the EO-College platform, was initiated as part of the EnMAP science program. EO-College is a learning hub for online courses, open educational resources and discussion forums in the field of Earth Observation. From September 2019, HYPERedu started to publish slide collections and hands-on tutorials on EO College based on the open-source EnMAP-Box software, targeting basic principles, methods as well as applications of imaging spectroscopy. The content is continuously extended and updated and will be supplemented with further online learning materials in the future. All resources are provided free of charge under a CC-BY license in English at the master's level, addressing students as well as professionals in research, companies, and public authorities.
In addition to the learning materials, HYPERedu comprises of a series of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). A first basic MOOC 'Beyond the Visible - Introduction to Hyperspectral Remote Sensing' was published in November 2021. It teaches the fundamentals of imaging spectroscopy, and additionally gives access to free data sources, open-source software and hands-on exercises. The course addresses students and users around the world and assumes basic knowledge in the field of optical remote sensing. It comprises three thematic lessons and is designed to take about five to eight hours, to be completed at one's own pace. After successful completion, participants receive a certificate. Lessons learned and user feedback were evaluated in detail and used for revising the course - most visible to the user community, all videos are now available with subtitles in German, Portuguese, Spanish and partly Italian and French language.
The basic MOOC is complemented by a series of shorter MOOCs with a first 'mini' MOOC 'Beyond the Visible - Imaging Spectroscopy for Agricultural Applications' developed in cooperation with the LMU Munich and published in December 2022. A second 'mini' MOOC 'Beyond the Visible - EnMAP data access and image preprocessing techniques' was developed in cooperation with DLR and published in July 2023. Further courses on soil, inland and coastal waters as well as forestry are under preparation or planned for the upcoming years. These short courses are intended to have a workload of two to three hours maximum.
The HYPERedu materials and courses are not only used for self-study but also increasingly in university teaching and training schools. Check out here below the overview of anticipated topics and two example slide collections available on EO-College.