Systemic Challenges, Collective Answers: Interactive Round Tables on Space Data Applications
Topics of the 5 Tables
#01 Navigating EU Space Policy: Regional Access, Innovation and Resilience
This cooperative table will bring together regional authorities, companies, startups, research organisations and users to discuss how they perceive and experience the evolving EU space policy landscape. In line with the Symposium’s focus on using space data, artificial intelligence, high performance computing and data management to support regional public policies and innovation, participants will consider how current EU priorities and initiatives affect regional ecosystems. The discussion will address access to EU programmes and funding, barriers to participation and innovation, administrative complexity, coordination challenges, and the growing emphasis on resilience, security and dual use space applications. It will identify common challenges, possible responses and opportunities for cooperation across regional ecosystems.
#02 Data Integrability and Interoperability": Overcoming Administrative Borders for Territorial Governance
Effective territorial management and planning increasingly require the integration of highly heterogeneous data streams, including satellite data, drone imagery, ground-based sensors, and physical forecasting models. This technical complexity is compounded by institutional fragmentation, as critical datasets are distributed across numerous public and private entities (such as regions, municipalities, environmental protection agencies, and river basin authorities). This discussion table focuses on the challenges of data integrability and federated interoperability, exploring how Artificial Intelligence and high-performance computing can bridge administrative and organizational silos. The goal is to investigate how to generate actionable knowledge and "what-if" predictive analyses to support public policies (such as air quality, decarbonization, and mobility), while strictly respecting digital sovereignty, data governance, and the ownership of data at its source.
#03 "Water Resilience & Blue Economy": Integrated Water Resource Management and Coastal Resilience
This discussion table explores the application of satellite data in support of "Blue Economy" policies and sustainable water resource management in the face of climate change. The session bridges the systemic challenges of water stress and prolonged drought with the protection of marine and coastal environments, addressing key areas such as erosion monitoring, coastal risk prevention, maritime logistics, and the development of marine renewable energies. Furthermore, it will investigate how to integrate satellite technology with cutting-edge digital platforms like the Digital Twin Ocean and Destination Earth to provide public administrations with effective decision-making tools for climate adaptation and the safeguarding of water, terrestrial, and coastal ecosystems.
#04 "Extreme Events Prevention and Digital Twins for Territorial Resilience": Planning and Adaptation to Climate Change
This cooperative discussion table focuses on territorial protection against the growing hazards of climate change, such as landslides, urban flooding, land degradation, and droughts. The session will explore how to effectively combine space and Earth Observation data with local in-situ sensors (ultra-high precision public GNSS networks, drone imagery, and physical ground stations) and predictive mathematical modeling. A primary focus will be placed on the Digital Twin paradigm, examining its integration, scalability, and interoperability across multiple dimensions: from the municipal scale (such as the urban digital twins of Bologna and Parma) and the regional level (exemplified by Emilia-Romagna's regional digital twin VERA and its dedicated VERA Space module) to national (Cyber Italy) and European frameworks (Destination Earth). To ground the discussion in concrete experience, the session will be co-managed by the working group of the regional VERA project, showcasing how these federated digital platforms enable predictive "what-if" scenarios to anticipate climate risks, design resilient infrastructures, and guide public policies for territorial adaptation.
#05 "Calibration and Validation of Satellite Data": Integrating In-Situ and Space for Certified Data
The efficacy and reliability of Earth Observation (EO) applications are strictly dependent on data accuracy and precision. However, relying solely on raw satellite data poses significant challenges due to atmospheric interference, spatiotemporal resolution limits, and the necessity of physical field verification. This cooperative discussion table addresses the critical topic of Calibration and Validation (Cal/Val) of satellite data, exploring how ground-based sensors, in-situ monitoring networks, drone surveys, and other proximity technologies are indispensable for providing the essential "ground truth". The session aims to analyze methodologies, best practices, and technological challenges in integrating these multi-source datasets to certify the quality of space-based data and ensure the absolute reliability of downstream services supporting both public policy and industrial applications
In collaboration with
Bologna, October 22-23, 2026
B4 Pavilion | DAMA Tecnopolo
Data Manifattura Emilia-Romagna
B4 Pavilion | DAMA Tecnopolo
Data Manifattura Emilia-Romagna
