GEO4H Geostatistics for human, animal and environmental health

The Second-level short specialisation degree in Geostatistics for Human, Animal and Environmental Health is online, and can be followed also by students who work full time, as it is provided on-demand through the multimedia Moodle platform of the University of Padua.

The Second-level short specialisation degree has been designed for students and professionals who wish to combine other activities and jobs with the need to further qualify or specialize.

There will be a frequent and user-friendly interaction between students and professors, through Moodle’s Forum.

The final project work shall be discussed between June and July, also on cases of specific interest suggested by students, and agreed with the tutor. It will also be discussed online, on the Zoom platform.

The objective of the Second-level short specialisation degree in Geostatistics for Human, Animal and Environmental Health is to provide training on how to correctly use geo-information and the tools of its spatial-time analysis.

Its purpose is analysing and understanding the dynamics of phenomena linked to human, animal and plant health, through advanced modelling techniques applied to geospatial data.

The course will form researchers and professionals capable of using geospatial information correctly, by integrating it with other sources and expanding the descriptive and predictive capacity and reliability of the analysis.

Through lessons, hands-on exercises and expert seminars, the Second-level short specialisation degree will help attendees enhance and improve the operations required to solve human, animal and plant health issues.

It will provide knowledge on statistical technique, automatic learning and data-mining innovations, with integration of geospatial information.

The Second-level short specialisation degree trains professional figures, such as consultants and operators of public administrations, companies and enterprises, NGO and non-profit organizations, as well as players involved in training and freelancers that provide advanced spatial-data analytics.

The Second-level short specialisation degree in Geostatistics for Human, Animal and Environmental Health includes the following modules:

Module 1 – Geospatial data management

Where to find information, how to extract the geospatial component, in what format transferring data to make them manageable, with what tools (data mining). Use of territorial IT systems (QGIS/GRASS/SAGA), definition of workflow models and creation of QGIS interfaces with built-in R environment.

Module 2 – Spatial data remote sensing and integration

How to structure and integrate the wealth of geodata collected from IoT sensors, drones and satellites in a rigorous way. Use of clusters from Google Earth Engine to extract data to be analysed in the R environment.

Module 3 – Geostatistics

Geostatistical methods, both in the spatial data exploratory analysis and in the inferential and model-making aspects. Spatially-correlated data models, including data prediction and interpolation techniques, de-clustering techniques and geostatistical models for preferential sampling.

Module 4 – Identification of aggregates (clusters) or spatial or spatial-time patterns

From spatial or spatial-time event distribution description methods, to model development for homogeneous and heterogeneous point processes, general clustering tests and cluster-detection tests.

Module 5 – High risk unit and area profiling

Profiling with Bayesian models and empirical Bayesian models, and creation of rankings or multivariate sorting. As example, case studies in environmental epidemiology will be considered, and the drafting of disease risk rankings by municipalities, census and their aggregates.

Module 6 – Point-source analysis

The main spatial evolution methods for disease risk in case of one or more pollution sources. This area also covers the methods based only on point-source distance, such as epidemic exposure assessment methods, which consider machine learning techniques to predict the spatial distribution of the relevant exposure.

For more information on the Director and Professors, and for useful insights on the Second-level short specialisation degree in Geostatistics for Human, Animal and Environmental Health, here’s the presentation video:

Second-level short specialisation degree in Geostatistics for Human, Animal and Environmental Health presentation video

The general ranking of merit for the academic year 2023/24 will be published on the Italian page of this Second-level short specialisation degree according to the timing provided in the Call.