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02 - 06 February 2026 Faculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia

8th Advanced Training Course on Radar Polarimetry

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Background

The European Space Agency (ESA) is organising the 8th ESA Advanced Course on Radar Polarimetry for training the next generation of Earth Observation (EO) scientists in dual and full polarimetric data for science and applications development

The course is part of ESA’s EO Science for Society – the Scientific Exploitation element of EOEP-5 (the fifth cycle of ESA’s Earth Observation Envelope Programme) for pioneering new EO services and scientific discoveries, stimulating downstream industry growth, and supporting international responses to global societal challenges.

Objectives

The main objectives of the course are to:

  • Train the next generation of  scientists and users of SAR polarimetric data;
  • Explain theoretical principles, processing algorithms, data products and their use in various applications;
  • Provide first-hand and up-to-date information on state-of-the-art methods and applications in Radar Polarimetry, Polarimetric SAR Interferometry and SAR Tomography;
  • Introduce available tools and methods for the exploitation of dual-pol and full-pol data;
  • Provide in-depth overview of BIOMASS mission and hands-on training on the processing and exploitation of BIOMASS data

Contents

The course provides a substantial and balanced introduction to the basics and advanced concepts of:

  • SAR data,
  • radar interferometry (InSAR),
  • radar polarimetry (POLSAR),
  • InSAR polarimetry (POLinSAR),
  • and SAR Tomography (TomoSAR) theory and applications.

The objective is to prepare participants for the scientific exploitation of the data from past and current SAR Polarimetric Missions (eg. ALOS-2, Sentinel-1, GF-3, RISAT, SAOCOM, RCM) with the emphasis on the new full Polarimetric Missions i.e., BIOMASS and NISAR and preparation to future SAR missions like ROSE-L.


Preliminary Programme

Participation

The 5-day course will be held in-person on 02 – 06 February 2026,  at the Faculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Post graduate, PhD students, post-doctoral research scientists and users from ESA member states and associated countries interested in Radar Polarimetry, BIOMASS and their applications are invited to apply.
Research scientists and students from all other countries are also welcome to apply and participate in the course, subject to availability.
The official language of the training course is English.
No participation fees will be charged for the training. Participation is limited and subject to a selection process. The preference will be given to participants with familiarity in SAR and Python programming.

Note that we cannot provide any funding for flights, accommodation, etc. We suggest reaching out to your institution or company to hear if they are interested in covering the cost of the training course.

Application

  • Create a user account in the ConfTool system and fill in the on-line application form HERE.
  • Enter the details of your academic referee and upload a reference letter (mandatory). The reference letter should be on the official University/Company letter head paper.
  • Your application will be considered completed only once the reference letter has been uploaded in support of your application.
  • The application submission will be closed 10th December 2025.
  • Participants will have the opportunity to present their work/research (short presentation) during the event. Additional guidelines will be provided in due course

Contact Info

For any questions or inquiries, please contact:

ESA course coordinator connor.heeney@ext.esa.int

Schedule and Deadlines

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

Application submission opening05 November 2025
Application submission closure10 December 2025
Notification of acceptanceearly January 2026
Training Course02-06 February 2026

Lecturers and Scientific Support

A. Alonso-Gonzalez

UPC

F. Banda

Aresys

L. Ferro-Famil

ISAE-SUPAERO

I. Hajnsek

ETH Zurich

C. Lopez-Martinez

UPC

A. Marino

Stirling University

K. Papathanassiou

DLR

M. Pardini

DLR

S. Tebaldini

POLIMI

Organizing Committee

M. Fitrzyk

RSAC c/o ESA

C. R. Heeney

RSAC c/o ESA

F. Sarti

European Space Agency (ESA)

02 – 06 February 2026

University of Ljubljan – Faculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering in Slovenia
Jamova cesta 2,
1000 Ljubljana,
Slovenia