SFedU received a grant for the implementation of the advanced program of additional professional education "Space monitoring and artificial intelligence: analysis of satellite data for sustainable development of territories". The program is aimed at comprehensive training of highly qualified personnel in the field of Big Earth Data analysis using artificial intelligence algorithms and meets the strategic priorities of Russia's technological sovereignty.

Graduates of the program will be able to independently process satellite images, apply neural network algorithms to classify land cover and predict landscape changes. Senior students, graduate students, as well as specialists from specialized organizations will be able to complete the training.

"Our university has been working in the interests of the space industry for more than 50 years. During this time, we have gained a lot of experience and completed dozens of high-tech projects. The expertise accumulated by engineers can be integrated into a new educational program. This will provide students with applied skills that meet modern requirements of the aerospace industry," said Oleg Spiridonov, Director and Chief Designer of the Scientific Design Bureau of Modeling and Control Systems (NCB "MIUS") of the Southern Federal University.

The educational process of the new program is based on a practice-oriented approach "from raw pixels to a management decision". The Southern Federal District will be used as a practical training ground for skills development. Within the framework of project sprints, students will solve real-world problems in the region: automated hydrological monitoring of salt lakes, a retrospective analysis of the urbanization of the Kerch Peninsula and forecasting the development of agricultural zones taking into account climatic scenarios.

"The success of SFedU in this competition seems logical, since the university is a key partner in the creation of the Russian Space Station. We have a full range of competencies in the field of receiving, processing space information and designing small spacecraft. The university's powerful logistical base will be used to implement the new program. The project pays special attention to integration with the real sector of the economy," said Natalia Andreichenko, Head of the SFedU Department for Partnership Development and Investment Policy.

Special attention in the project will be paid to interaction with the industry. The program is being implemented jointly with Ural Federal University, Altai State University and a pool of industrial partners, including leading enterprises in the aerospace industry. Representatives of enterprises will act as mentoring practitioners and help participants work with real production tasks.

The implementation of this additional professional education program will allow Southern Federal University to contribute to the creation and development of a permanent infrastructure to support space education and innovation in our country.

For reference:

From 2026 to 2030, the federal project of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation "Personnel for Space" is being implemented as part of the National Space Project, aimed at creating an integrated training system for highly qualified specialists in the rocket and space industry.

The strategic goal of the project is to provide the Russian space industry with competent specialists capable of solving national–scale tasks, from fundamental research to the creation of promising space systems and complexes in accordance with the Concept of Technological Development until 2030.