Second edition of Edusat Challenge reaches nearly 300 pupils and 30 teachers from 27 schools across Catalonia

Nearly 300 pupils and more than 30 teachers from upper primary, secondary, and sixth-form levels across 27 educational centres in Catalonia have participated in the second edition of the Edusat Challenge. This programme, promoted by the Government of Catalonia to introduce Earth observation into the classroom, held its closing ceremony and results presentation today at Espai Bital in L’Hospitalet de Llobregat.

The Secretary for Digital Policies of the Ministry of Business and Labour, Maria Galindo Garcia-Delgado, presided over the event. Also in attendance were Sònia Fernández Cuenca, Director General for Curriculum and Professional Development at the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training; David Ballester Ferrando, Director of the Institute of Education Sciences at the University of Girona (UdG); and Josep Colomé, Director of the Area for the Promotion of the Space Sector (APEC) at the Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC).

During the event, attendees learned first-hand about the proposals developed in the classrooms of six participating centres. Around 70 pupils and 12 teachers from these schools presented live projects that analyse the impact of climate change using satellite data from the European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) Copernicus programme and the ‘Menut’ satellite mission—the latter promoted by the Government of Catalonia and managed by the IEEC with technical support from the Cartographic and Geological Institute of Catalonia (ICGC).

The projects presented today were:

• Cobargo: chronicle of several months in flames. Institut Escola Eixample (Barcelona)
• Can we see the impacts on Earth from space? INS Damià Campeny (Mataró)
• Sentinel: our eyes for observing from space. FESB Sagrat Cor Diputació (Barcelona)
• ‘Exploring Science’ Workshop: observing natural phenomena through satellite imagery. Escola Sant Gervasi Cooperativa (Mollet del Vallès)
• Secondary Mission – Determining fire risk using a thermal camera. INS Terrassa (Terrassa)
• Environmental issues seen from space. Faculty of Education and Psychology, UdG (Girona)

The Edusat Challenge is promoted by the Government of Catalonia’s Ministry of Business and Labour—via the Secretariat for Digital Policies—and the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training, within the framework of the Catalonia Space 2030 Strategy and the STEAMcat programme. Teacher training and mentoring are coordinated by the Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing Service (SIGTE) at the UdG. SIGTE also develops the Edusat platform, which inspired the programme, and offers remote sensing materials and training to university students and gifted-and-talented entities. The programme also features the collaboration of the IEEC.

Applied within schools, the Edusat Challenge has allowed for the development of competencies in mathematics (algebra, geometry, and statistics), as well as in the natural, social, and geographical sciences (use and interpretation of maps and diverse data). It has also enhanced digital and technological skills, teamwork, and critical data analysis.

Through the programme, pupils have been able to identify and monitor various phenomena involving significant surface changes. They utilised satellite imagery from the ESA’s Copernicus programme—which provides free, public, and open near-real-time data and images of our planet via the Sentinel satellites—and the ‘Menut Viewer’. The latter is an interactive tool developed by the ICGC providing access to processed images from the ‘Menut’ mission, the first Earth observation satellite mission promoted by the Government of Catalonia and managed by the IEEC with technical support from the ICGC.

Thanks to the Edusat platform and the technological resources provided to schools, it has been possible to observe sustained territorial changes from the classroom. Examples include the retreat of the Ebro Delta, the effects of rising river levels during floods, urban growth processes, and air pollution levels in major cities.