Copernicus Academy. Roles and responsibilities of the Copernicus Academy. user uptake. Focus Data uptake, capacity building and skills development

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1 Copernicus Academy user uptake Roles and responsibilities of the Copernicus Academy The European Commission has launched two Networks, the Copernicus Relays and the Copernicus Academy, to contribute on spreading awareness and knowledge about Copernicus across and outside the EU. The Networks will be assisted in their journey by the Copernicus Support Office. The Copernicus Academy Members will support the Commission in bridging the gap between skills and data use, and enable the uptake of Copernicus data in new sectors. Their aim is to foster the development of interdisciplinary masters and educational classes, skills boosting programmes for vocational training, industry-university traineeships and the creation of spin-offs. No EU funding is currently allocated to these Networks, however, they will receive the full support of the Copernicus Support Office in performing their role as Members of the Copernicus Network. The Identify Card of the Copernicus Academy is shown below. Copernicus Academy Members are kindly invited to provide the Commission with yearly action plans. They are also invited to perform some additional tasks, depending on their interest and resources available, and on a voluntary best effort basis. Details of the envisaged role and responsibilities can be found in the annex. For any questions, the Copernicus Support Office can be reached through , telephone, and live chat on the support.copernicus.eu website. They will make tools and materials available to the Members, to support their efforts in promoting and fostering uptake of Copernicus data and services. Domain Education, Research Focus Data uptake, capacity building and skills development Actors Universities (incl. Business schools) Research institutions Private educational institutions focused on business and space Suggested tasks Publications, teaching and training material production, career development initiatives Building a knowledge culture and developing the Copernicus ecosystem Synergy and cooperation with the other members, the Support Office, and the Copernicus Relays Outcome Support Data uptake capacity building and skills development Development of interdisciplinary training, new skills boosting programmes Fostering the awareness of the Copernicus programme Knowledge areas to boost Cartography and Visualisation Data Manipulation Geospatial data Data Modelling Geo-computation GIS&T and Society Ultimately, the combined joint actions of the Copernicus Academy Network should contribute to foster the uptake of the existing open and free space data and information products by boosting the development of the professional skills needed by space data potential users, where a key value added is given to merging skills and knowledge from either different sectors, or different transversal skills such as IT, GIS and data handling skills.

2 Copernicus Academy user uptake Annex Copernicus Academy Members Role and Responsibilities (Details) THE ACADEMY IDENTITY CARD Domain Education, Research Actors Universities (incl. Business schools), Research institutions, private educational institutions focused on business and space Focus Data Uptake and Capacity Building Knowledge areas to boost Cartography and Visualisation, Data Modelling, Data Manipulation, Geo-computation, Geospatial data, GIS&T and Society Desired outcomes of the Copernicus Academy Network Support in bridging the gap between skills and data use and enable Copernicus data uptake in new sectors (e.g.: dedicated university curricula for geology, forestry management) Development of interdisciplinary and international masters and educational classes, new skills boosting programmes for vocational training, industry-university traineeships agreements, spin-offs creation, best practices building and reference tools and material Ultimately, fostering the awareness of the Copernicus programme by reinforcing the Copernicus branding Potential suggested tasks for the Academy Members Develop publications and reference training lectures on Copernicus data and information exploitation, under a public license Include Copernicus-related material and modules in existing courses Strengthen the synergies and cooperation between members by sharing knowledge and training material, best practices and Copernicusrelated research and applications outcome Support innovative products/applications (resulting from Copernicus-related activities within the Member) to get to the Market Establish dedicated vocational training and thesis scholarships in coordination with public institutions and private actors. Start-ups involvement is privileged in the case of thesis scholarship Build a knowledge culture and a strategic think-thank around the benefits of the Copernicus programme and its potential for both public services needs and societal challenges Take advantage of initiatives and/or opportunities communicated by the Support Office Take advantage of the Support Office to develop synergic relations with the Copernicus Relays Network and other key networks such as the KICs and ESA Education Office Contribute to the development of the ecosystem that the Commission is building around Copernicus and its data with a focus on the market needs (spin-offs development, etc.) Suggested final deliverable to foster the cooperation and cross-fertilisation among Members Yearly action plan delivered to the Support Office ideally 90 days before the termination of the 12-month period of the Copernicus Academy label assigned (required in order to be eligible for the renewal of the labelling)

3 List of suggested tasks for the Copernicus Academy Members Taking into accounts the applications received by the Commission for the Academy, it is possible to group the Academy Members into five main categories: Universities Research institutions Associations Downstream service providers Other The Commission has defined a list of suggested tasks by category of Academy Members, to be executed on a voluntary best effort basis. For each category there are core (priority tasks), to which each Member is advised to contribute to. Other tasks are also listed as examples of additional activities which would also support to Copernicus data uptake and capacity building. Important: Even if no EU funding has been currently allocated to Copernicus Academy Members, the Support Office, upon explicit request, can identify whether there is margin to support the proposed activity. Moreover, the CUF (Copernicus User Forum), the EEs (Entrusted Entities), and the Copernicus Relays might be in a position to assist or indicate the appropriate funding opportunities available for the type of initiative proposed. Nonetheless, it is worthwhile to underline that the Copernicus Academy Members will have a considerable return in terms of knowledge enhancement, reputation and capacity building, as well as cross-fertilisation and best practices sharing with other Members of the Network. The Support Office will be at disposal for making this overall journey a worthwhile experience for all the organisations involved. Universities Universities are well placed to play a pivotal role for the future of Copernicus, as students have the opportunity to get acquainted with Copernicus programme s data offer, and to apply their knowledge in interesting subjects such as: Cartography and visualisation Data manipulation and modelling Geospatial world in general The formation of the students will eventually result in highly skilled jobs, growth, and R&D innovations and breakthrough. The Commission suggests the following list of tasks, e.g.: Develop publications and reference lectures for training purposed on Copernicus data and information exploitation, under a public license (core task) Establish dedicated vocational training, educational programmes, and thesis scholarships, also in cooperation with the Copernicus Relays (core task) Develop a synergic relation with the Copernicus Relays network and other key stakeholders through the coordination of the Commission s Support Office, in particular with the ESA Education Office and the Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) (core task) Focus on spin-off developments resulting from educational activities (core task) Research Institutions Research institutes will play a complementary role with universities one, but with a higher focus on specific applications and products obtained by EO data exploitation. The suggested tasks for them include for example: Contribute to the development of the ecosystem that the Commission is building around Copernicus and space data overall with main focus on the match with the end user/market needs and the economic dimension (i.e. spin-offs development, etc.) (core task) Develop a synergic relation also with the Copernicus Relays Network and other key stakeholders through the coordination of the Commission (core task) Within the specific domain of the institution, build up a knowledge culture and a strategic think-thank around the benefits of the Copernicus programme and its potential for both public services needs and societal challenges Develop publications and reference lectures for training on Copernicus data and information use, under a public license

4 Associations All associations that applied to be an Academy Member include in the consortia that they manage numerous training and education institutions; therefore, the Commission suggests for them an umbrella role in, encompassing for example the following tasks: Bridging the knowledge and skills of the partners to contribute to establishing dedicated vocational trainings at national and international level (core task) Organise events to reach out and involve relevant stakeholders in order to increase the awareness of Copernicus and give visibility to the Academy and Relays network (core task) Focus on innovation and spin-off, trying to support relevant ideas coming from the other Academy members of their Nation (and not only) Downstream service providers The downstream service provider companies who applied to become an Academy member largely base their business on the exploitation of Copernicus and EO data. As a consequence, the Commission sees them as testimonials providing with best practice examples for other European SMEs willing to follow a similar path. The actions suggested for them include for example: Develop hands-on training courses for SMEs and start-ups and students aimed at developing ICT/GIS solutions using Copernicus data and/or information (core task) Develop practical training courses for public National and local authorities aimed at developing ICT/Gis solutions using Copernicus data and/or information (core task) Stipulate industry-university traineeship or internship agreements Organise events and/or join events held by other National and international Academy members Other (SGAC and La Cité de l espace) Generation Advisory Council (SGAC) in Support of the United Nations Programme on Applications Austria The Generation Advisory Council is a global non-governmental, non-profit organisation and network which aims to represent university students and young space professionals to the United Nations, space agencies, industry, and academia. The organisation s greatest asset is the culturally and geographically diverse network. As a consequence, within the Academy framework, SGAC could have a relevant role (core task) in bridging EO-related skills gaps, supporting entrepreneurial education, and promoting the dissemination of Copernicus educational and training material. Moreover, because of the SGAC experience in the field, the Council could potentially support the Commission in identifying new and emerging sectors which could benefit from EO-data uptake. La Cité de l espace France La Cité de l espace is a theme park focused on and astronomy. The main mission is indeed education and outreach. As a consequence, a potential core tasks for the Cité could include: Increase Copernicus programme awareness by - Encompassing Copernicus-related information in selected outreach and education activities already being offered - Animating the network of the Cité, e.g. educators, science museums, planetariums, by promoting the Copernicus programme initiatives

5 Suggested milestones for all Copernicus Academy Members In order to ensure the best exploitation of synergies and cross-fertilisation across Copernicus Academy Members, the Commission kindly encourages to set few milestones 1, including the yearly report towards the end of the 12-month period, e.g.: 1 month after KO: initial action plan based on Member s application 2, including for example: - Plans on how the Member intends to tackle the core tasks (and other tasks if applicable). Focus could be on:» Description of the contribution envisioned including a preliminary timeline (if applicable)» Description of external support needed (if applicable)» Details on the multidisciplinary of courses/ activities (if applicable)» Envisaged relation/engatement with other Universities, Research Institutions, Associations, Downstream Service Providers and relevant entities (if applicable)» Foreseen practical outcomes of the activities envisioned» Any planned user engagement actions and ways to address real users needs and how these are reflected in the outcomes (if applicable) Quarterly reports delivered to the Support Office on a voluntary best effort basis. The Commission will produce a 2-page template which will be sent to all Members, including: - Progress of the activity» Work done» Work to be done - Updates with» Change to the initial proposed plan» New ideas Final yearly action plan delivered to the Support Office 90 days before the termination of the 12-month period of the Copernicus Academy label assigned, including: - Summary of performed activities to date - Proposed planned activities for the following year (if the Member wishes to renew the labelling) This last deliverable is required in order to be eligible for the renewal of the labelling for another year. The rationale for setting up these milestones is to ensure the best use and maximum leverage of allocated resources, avoid duplications, foster cooperation and cross-fertilisation, and ultimately increase the knowledge and skills needed by space data users. 1 These milestones represent suggestions from the Commission, to be carried out only on a voluntary basis 2 Support Office will provide them with a template.