>UNU Hub R-SIRUS Executive Co-Director Reza Khanbilvardi
Marking the first anniversary of its establishment at The City College of New York, the United Nations University Hub on Remote-Sensing and Sustainable Innovations for Resilient Urban Systems (R-SIRUS) will present a weeklong Professional Development Workshop in Digital Earth and Artificial Intelligence for Sustainability in January 2026.
The five-day micro-credential workshop, from Monday, Jan. 12 to Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, each day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., will take place on site and online. Designed for professionals, researchers, and policymakers looking to harness digital innovation for global sustainability challenges, the program will provide hands on training in Earth remote sensing and artificial intelligence/machine learning for forecasting and policy support. Participants will gain experience working with satellite data, applying machine learning techniques, and building reproducible workflows using Python and open science datasets. The program culminates in a capstone project designed to deliver real world impact.
The idea for the workshop is an extension of R-SIRUS’s core mission to advance applied research and capacity-building at the intersection of Digital Earth technologies, artificial intelligence, and sustainability, according to NOAA Chair and Professor of Civil Engineering Reza Khanbilvardi of the Grove School of Engineering, R-SIRUS’s executive co-director. The concept was jointly conceived by colleagues at UNU and CCNY who recognized that rapid advances in AI and Earth-observation products are opening new opportunities, but also widening skill gaps, for professionals working in environmental management, climate resilience, and disaster-risk reduction.
“We chose to offer this workshop now because the first year of the UNU Hub at CCNY has clearly demonstrated strong demand for practical, high-level training that connects theory with real-world applications,” said Khanbilvardi. “January is an ideal moment, as it allows us to close the Hub’s first year with a focused, high-impact capacity-building program, while setting the tone for deeper engagement with our partners in 2026.”
Khanbilvardi envisions the Hub becoming a leading center for innovation, training, and thought leadership in the areas of climate resilience, urban sustainability, and AI-enabled environmental intelligence.
“Workshops like this one are part of a broader strategy to expand recruitment of world-class scholars, deepen collaboration across the UNU system, and engage professionals, faculty, and graduate students who want to contribute to global sustainability efforts,” he said.
One feature of the program is its roster of lecturers representing a wide range of related expertise. The workshop is chaired by CCNY Professor of Chemical Engineering Mitchell Goldberg, who also holds the title of distinguished research scientist for the Grove School of Engineering-based National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Center for Earth System Sciences and Remote Sensing Technologies, known as NOAA-CESSRT.
Detailed information about the structure of the workshop, including registration and fees, is available at https://www.ccny.cuny.edu/calendar/unu-r-sirus-professional-development-workshop-digital-earth-and-artificial-intelligence. Professionals and advanced students from government agencies and NGOs, research institutions and universities, international organizations, and those engaged in private sector environmental technology or artificial intelligence are encouraged to apply.
About The City College of New York
Since 1847, The City College of New York has provided a high-quality and affordable education to generations of New Yorkers in a wide variety of disciplines. CCNY embraces its position at the forefront of social change. It is ranked #1 by the Harvard-based Opportunity Insights out of 369 selective public colleges in the United States on the overall mobility index. This measure reflects both access and outcomes, representing the likelihood that a student at CCNY can move up two or more income quintiles. Education research organization Degree Choices ranks CCNY #1 nationally among universities for economic return on investment. In addition, the Center for World University Rankings places CCNY in the top 1.8% of universities worldwide in terms of academic excellence. Labor analytics firm Lightcast puts at $3.2 billion CCNY’s annual economic impact on the regional economy (5 boroughs and 5 adjacent counties) and quantifies the “for dollar” return on investment to students, taxpayers, and society. At City College, more than 16,500 students pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in eight schools and divisions, driven by significant funded research, creativity, and scholarship. In 2023, CCNY launched its most expansive fundraising campaign ever. The campaign, titled “Doing Remarkable Things Together,” seeks to bring the College’s Foundation to more than $1 billion in total assets in support of the College's mission. CCNY is as diverse, dynamic, and visionary as New York City itself. View CCNY Media Kit.
Syd Steinhardt
212-650-7875
ssteinhardt@ccny.cuny.edu