IN FOCUS: Collaborative Learning at 2026 HDCRS Summer School

By Joanne Van Voorhis

IEEE GRSS continues to develop and support initiatives that encourage collaboration between students, researchers, and professionals working at the intersection of Earth Observation (EO) and advanced computing technologies. One of the strongest examples of this commitment is the annual High Performance and Disruptive Computing in Remote Sensing (HDCRS) Summer School, organized each year by the IEEE GRSS HDCRS Working Group within the Earth Science Informatics Technical Committee, with the collaboration of the Quantum Earth Science and Technology Technical Committee for the 2026 edition.

The sixth edition of the Summer School took place 9-12 June 2026 in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, bringing together attendees from universities, research centers, industry, and government organizations for four days of lectures, discussions, laboratory sessions, networking activities, and collaborative learning experiences focused on emerging computational approaches for EO applications. “Over the years, the HDCRS Summer School has developed a reputation not only for the quality of its technical program, but also for the welcoming and highly interactive atmosphere created by its organizers and volunteers,” explains Dr. Dora Blanco Heras, co-chair of the HDCRS Working Group within the IEEE GRSS ESI Technical Committee. “We try to include many events and opportunities to encourage communication between students, early career researchers, and internationally recognized experts.”

Creating a Valuable Experience for Attendees

A central goal of the HDCRS Summer School is to create an environment where participants feel comfortable exploring unfamiliar technologies and engaging with experts from a wide range of disciplines. Rather than focusing exclusively on theoretical presentations, the school emphasizes accessibility, interaction, and practical learning. Organizers worked throughout the week to ensure attendees had opportunities to ask questions, participate in discussions, and gain direct experience with the tools and workflows presented during the program.

The collaborative nature of the event was reflected in both the formal schedule and the informal networking opportunities built into the week. Poster sessions, laboratory exercises, shared meals, and group discussions encouraged participants to exchange ideas, discuss research challenges, and establish professional connections that often continue after the event concludes.

Participant Pablo Canosa García (Universidade de Santiago de Compostela) found the networking opportunities to be a highlight of the 2026 HDCRS Summer School. “As a first-year PhD student specializing in remote sensing, the school turned out to be a great experience. The talks about edge computing and quantum machine learning gave me a broader picture of the field in the present and also where it is heading. But honestly, the highlight was the informal poster sessions, where chatting with peers from different backgrounds showed me perspectives and ideas I wouldn’t have come across on my own,” he explained.

He also noted the open culture encouraging networking at the event. “The first thing that stood out was how approachable everyone was. You had a chance to talk to people at very different stages of their careers, from students just starting their PhD to those wrapping it up, to postdocs and full professors – which made it easy to learn from a wide range of experiences. Also, while we all shared remote sensing as a common field, topics were broad enough so I could get feedback and ideas from researchers working on very different problems and approaches,” he explained.

Engaging and Topic-Rich Program

The 2026 program covered a broad range of technologies relevant to modern Earth Observation research with the computing paradigms and infrastructures as the guiding theme. The topics included high performance computing, edge computing, quantum computing, artificial intelligence, geospatial foundation models, and agentic AI for EO.

Participants explored how scalable computing environments are being used to process large EO datasets and support increasingly sophisticated machine learning models. Several lectures and demonstrations highlighted the growing importance of foundation models for geospatial analysis, including workflows involving embeddings, large-scale pre-trained EO models, and downstream prediction tasks.

Hands-on activities remained a core component of the school. Participants worked directly with tools and platforms such as Google Earth Engine and other computational frameworks used for large-scale EO analysis. These practical sessions were designed to help attendees better understand how advanced computational methods can be integrated into real research workflows.

Participant Faith Kagwiria Mutwiri (Sapienza University of Rome) found that the presenters were incredibly knowledgeable and articulated their topics well. “The sessions were highly interactive, and the lecturers addressed all questions thoroughly. Outside the lecture hall, they remained approachable and open to further discussions as we enjoyed the coffee breaks which made the learning experience even more engaging and fun. In addition, my interaction with other students was amazing, we had talks that ranged from classwork, about our countries and universities, to the amazing Spanish cuisine and ultimately how we could combine expertise and work together in the future,” she explained.

Quantum Computing for Earth Observation

One of the key focus topics of the 2026 Summer School was quantum computing for Earth Observation. Dedicated sessions introduced participants to the principles of quantum computation and quantum machine learning, with a focus on their potential applications in EO data analysis. The program included lectures on quantum algorithms and quantum machine learning concepts, alongside discussions of current research directions in the field. Participants also took part in hands-on laboratory exercises.

“This year, we also included a guided visit to the Galician Supercomputing Center (CESGA), one of Spain’s leading high-performance computing and research facilities. The visit gave attendees a valuable opportunity to learn more about the infrastructure, operational environments, and large-scale computational resources that support advanced scientific research across multiple disciplines. Participants were also introduced to QUMIO, the quantum computer currently available at CESGA,” says Dora Blanco. “We also had the opportunity to hear from Lois Orosa, CESGA’s Research Director, who presented the center’s infrastructure, services, and main research activities,” she adds.

The visit to CESGA provided valuable context for many of the topics discussed throughout the Summer School and helped attendees better understand how modern HPC environments support large-scale EO workflows in practice. Participant Faith Kagwiria Mutwiri also visited CESGA as part of the Summer School and enjoyed the experience. “The most interesting part of the visit was the history of the supercomputers. The great shift from a one meter diameter hard disk with a capacity of 10KB to the current FinisTerrae III with a capacity of 118TB of memory and 5,000TB of high end Lustre storage. This really made me think about the future of supercomputing technology, that “the new today will be ancient tomorrow” due to continuous improvement,” she explained. “Also, it is inspiring to know that the resources at CESGA are actively available for use, and that the facility offers open internship and research opportunities for students with relevant profiles. I would say that there is great potential in the facility,” she added.

Supporting the Next Generation of EO Researchers

As Earth Observation datasets continue to increase in both scale and complexity, researchers are increasingly required to work with distributed systems, cloud infrastructures, AI-driven workflows, and specialized computing architectures. The HDCRS Summer School continues to play an important role in helping students and early career researchers build familiarity and confidence with these technologies in a supportive learning environment.

“We know that the success of the program depends heavily on the dedication of the organizing team and volunteers, as well as on the continued participation of space agencies such as ESA and NASA, and companies including IBM and Google. Over the past six years, they have shared their latest advances in remote sensing from a computational perspective,” says Dr. Blanco Heras.

“Researchers and staff from CiTIUS (Research Center on Intelligent Technologies, University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain), CESGA, the IEEE GRSS HDCRS Working Group, the GRSS QUEST Technical Committee, and other collaborating institutions devoted considerable time and effort to coordinating lectures, laboratory sessions, technical infrastructure, and participant support throughout the week. I am deeply grateful to everyone whose dedication and teamwork helped make the 2026 Summer School a success,” she adds.

Continuing the Learning Experience

In keeping with the school’s commitment to accessibility and knowledge sharing, slides and recordings of the lectures will be made available online through the GRSS YouTube channel.  Course material from the 2026 Summer School will also be published on the GRSS HDC-RS Summer School website , allowing the broader community to benefit from the presentations and technical sessions long after the in-person program concludes. Presentations from prior events are also available.

IEEE GRSS and the HDCRS Working Group encourage students, researchers, and professionals interested in advanced computing for Earth Observation to follow updates for the 2027 activities of the HDCRS working group as well as those organized by the other groups of the ESI committee.

Find out more about the IEEE GRSS Earth Science Informatics Technical Committee.