FAQs
What is Summer of Earth Engine?
Google Summer of Earth Engine is a 3-month paid summer research program for Indian university students & researchers to get a chance to work on a project using Google Earth Engine with leading research organizations in the country working in environment, conservation, water resources and agricultural domains.
Who can participate in the program?
Student researchers enrolled in a full-time or part-time Undergraduate, Post Graduate or Doctoral course of study at any University or College in India are eligible to participate. Early-career researchers who passed out of a formal academic program on/after 15-Mar-2016 and are not employed currently, may also apply.
What is the program period?
The official Summer of Earth Engine Program period is from 1 May to 31 July, 2019
What is Google Earth Engine?
Google earth engine is a planetary-scale platform for Earth science data & analysis. Visit earthengine.google.com to learn more.
How do I sign up for Google Earth Engine?
Visit signup.earthengine.google.com to signup for the platform.
Where do I apply for Summer of Earth Engine?
Visit the Student Proposal to submit your application and project proposal
Can I submit a project of my own?
No, for this cohort of the program you can pick a project to apply to from the list of projects proposed by participating research orgs.
What platform should I use for the execution of my project?
Since the program is called Summer of Earth Engine, it's obvious that you'll be expected to implement your project using Google Earth Engine (Code-editor or Python API)! :) You can use additional tools, environments, resources for parts of your project but a major chunk of all the analysis & work needs to be carried out using Google Earth Engine.
Who will be my mentor?
Your mentor will be a member of the research organization you are applying. They have a solid background in the domain of the project you are applying to as well as a strong understanding of Google Earth Engine. You will be working under their guidance throughout the duration of the program and will be expected to reach out to them in case of questions/doubts.
Can I participate in the program remotely?
Yes, as a matter of fact this a remote program. If you'd like to be present in person at the research organization for the program you can very well choose to do so as well but you will be expected to cover your own travel and stay expenses from the money awarded as part of the program.
I graduated recently and am currently working in a full-time job. Am I still eligible to apply?
No. This program is only for students and recent graduates (degree completion date should be on or after 15 March, 2016) who are currently unemployed. This includes any other research internships or full-time paid fellowships.
I will be studying during the program period and will have full-day classes, can I still participate?
No. We require students to not have any full-time commitments- including other research internships during this program period or at least for 2/3rds of it, which is why we are organizing it during the summer months to coincide with the university summer breaks and expect you to be able to fully participate in the program.
What types of projects are part of the Summer of Earth Engine program?
The projects are spread across domains of agriculture, water resources, ecology and conservation and are primarily research projects dealing with Remote Sensing/Satellite Data carried out using Earth Engine. You can check out the broad project descriptions on the website.
As part of your application into the program, you are expected to submit your understanding of the project and a plan of implementation highlighting how you are going to execute it over 3 months.
What am I expected to submit at the end of the program?
You will be required to submit a poster paper containing the research work you've carried out during Summer of Earth Engine.