Digital Earth and Artificial Intelligence for Sustainability: Professional Development Workshop

The UNU Hub on Remote-Sensing and Sustainable Innovations for Resilient Urban Systems (R-SIRUS) at the City College of New York will host a five-day professional development workshop in New York City from 12–16 January 2026. The workshop focuses on leveraging Digital Earth technologies and artificial intelligence to address global sustainability and environmental challenges.

Distinguished lecturers and trainers include global leaders in Earth observation, atmospheric science, AI, and environmental monitoring such as: Tony McNally (ECMWF), Shobha Kondragunta (NOAA), Mitch Goldberg (CUNY CREST & R-SIRUS Chair), Jack Xiong and Steve Platnick (NASA, retired), Christian Kummerow (Colorado State University), Bojan Bojkov (EUMETSAT), Allen Huang (University of Wisconsin–Madison), Ken Holmlund (WMO & EUMETSAT, retired), Kyle McDonald, Alex Gilerson and Maria Tzortziou (City College of New York), Laura Alvarez and Hernan Moreno (University of Texas at El Paso), and Dan Lindsay (NOAA). Their combined expertise spans satellite systems, AI/ML for geoscience, climate forecasting, sensor calibration, ocean and land remote sensing, and operational environmental services.

Participants from governments, research institutions, international organizations, and the private sector will engage in expert-led lectures, hands-on coding labs, and a capstone project using real-world environmental datasets. The programme will explore satellite Earth observation systems, atmospheric and surface monitoring, AI/ML model development, forecasting applications, open science platforms, urban resilience, water and air quality monitoring, and disaster risk reduction.

This workshop forms part of UNU Hub R-SIRUS’s mission to strengthen global capacity in digital innovation for sustainability and supports international efforts to advance the SDGs, climate adaptation, and evidence-based policy. The workshop emphasizes practical approaches for integrating remote sensing, AI, and data analytics into national and regional decision-making frameworks, helping bridge science, policy, and practice.

Participants who complete the full programme will receive a certificate issued by the UNU Hub R-SIRUS.