Digital Earth Africa (DE Africa) and the Kenyatta University in Kenya are collaborating to train the next generation of future leaders that will use earth observation for natural resource management. This has been possible courtesy of Dr Particia Mwangi, a lecturer in the Department of Spatial and Environmental Planning.
Dr Patricia is a Geospatial Engineer and is passionate about environmental monitoring and management using Geospatial technologies. She is keen on mapping changes in the environment, urban growth and dynamics and monitoring effects of climate change in urban areas all with an aim in ensuring there is sustainable environmental management.
Dr Patricia organised for students in Bachelor of Science in Urban studies to enrol in DE Africa online courses in January 2025 as part of their continuous assessment’s tests and partial fulfilment of their subjects in the semester period January to April 2025. This was followed with a face-to-face training by DE Africa in April 2025 to the students in the Department of urban studies. There were 24 students (year 1 and 2) who were provided an overview of DE Africa applications in urban management including urban change, and urban management of green spaces with the Sahel and West Africa Club datasets on Africapolis. 14 students completed the DE Africa course on introduction to Sandbox and received their certificate of completion. The students will be attachment in the period May to August 2025 and will resume using DE Africa in the next semester from September 2025.
Strengthening and localising the partnership with Digital Earth Africa will assist Kenyatta university in further leveraging Digital Earth Africa's accessible, analysis-ready data sets and platform in the implementation of their projects, the development applications, and the deepening of capabilities and uptake at the national level. For Digital Earth Africa the partnership with Kenyatta university will further foster country engagement opportunities in Kenya and more broadly in East Africa.
Additional interventions will see Digital Earth Africa facilitating more training sessions for Kenyatta university faculty and staff, providing onsite training opportunities when possible, and extending training opportunities to interested sister universities and partners with aligned objectives.
Dr Patricia is a staunch champion of earth observation programs and regards Digital Earth Africa as being instrumental in supporting the Space Technology Agency in Kenya and using EO data to drive evidence-based decision-making in support of Kenya’s National Adaption Plans (NAPs).
Dr Kenneth Mubea, Capacity Development Lead at Digital Earth Africa, says, "Kenyatta university and Digital Earth Africa have enjoyed a strong collaboration that will see more students benefit from big data platforms such as DE Africa. This collaboration will help Kenyatta university in updating their training curriculum especially at the postgraduate level and support students in addressing development challenges using earth observation."
This partnership is expected to foster innovation, capacity development, and sustainable growth in the fields of geospatial and EO data, ultimately benefiting both Kenyatta University and DE Africa and their respective stakeholders.