DGM is a training Centre of Excellence (CoE) covering the French-speaking countries of West and North Africa. The CoE of Casablanca established by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the Coordination Group for Meteorological Satellites (CGMS), a CoE of Casablanca works closely with satellite operators in order to meet user needs for increased skills and knowledge in using data and products from meteorological and environmental satellites within their Region.
CoE of Casablanca and EUMETSAT are working together to develop training activities in French on the use of EUMETSAT satellite products for the benefit of RA I. Since its creation in 2012, we have organized a dozen online and face-to-face training sessions on several topics such as aviation, marine and hydrology.
CoE activities are supported by the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA), the European Virtual Meteorological Training Organization (Eumetcal), the international training project sponsored by EUMETSAT (EUMeTrain) and University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) COMET Training Program of the United States.
The CoE of Casablanca identifies the training requirements and user needs by more than a way. For instance, the focal point of the CoE of Casablanca is also a member of the RA-I Dissemination Expert Group (RAIDEG).
Among the activities of RAIDEG is the identification of new training requirements and user needs. Contacts between experts and forecasters at international meetings or during exchange of visits between experts from the CoE of Casablanca and other experts/forecasters from African countries also allow identifying user needs. Surveys conducted by WMO and EUMETSAT are another source for identifying training requirements and user needs.
Furthermore, CoE participates in the activities of the African Satellite Meteorology Education and Training (ASMET) by developing training modules related to the use of satellite images in meteorology, through the participation of two qualified engineers. The collaboration within the growing VLab community is key to the success of our CoE activities and we endeavour to keep it strong.
CoE Contact Information
Tareq Soubai
Head of the Applied Model and Remote Sensing (Direction Générale de la Météorologie)