Summer 2020 arrived imperceptibly, and with it the desire for more and more new and unforgettable moments and adventures. Summer is the favorite season for many people – it is the book of hope, the long-awaited inspiration for artists, the palette of coveted colors and shades of each artist, the unity of the most wonderful emotions that fill and warm the souls of dreamers at least to next summer…

It is no secret that we all combine a small part of artists, painters, dreamers, cartographers, geographers and others. So, what better conditions – from the timelessness in the fiery July heat, the hot wide smiling sun, the summer unceasing inspiration and the “thirst” for coolness from the depths of the new, can immerse us in the freshness of the GIS world?

Our journey into the fresh world of Geospatial Technologies, through which we learned what the basic data models in GIS are, how to work with them and most importantly – how to make beautiful maps with available data, began on July 6 and lasted 3 weeks – until July 26, 2020:

• July 6 – 10: Module 1 – Introduction to GIS
  July 11 – 14: Module 2 – Working with vector data in QGIS
  July 15 – 19: Module 3 – Working with raster data in QGIS
  July 20 – 26: Module 4 – Cartographic design foundamentials

The training combined knowledge from several areas – GIS, Earth observation and digital cartography. 45 participants embarked on this summer challenge with us.

In the final module of the training, each participant successfully developed their own individual project related to working with various types of data in QGIS.

We present to you a small part of all the projects that our participants made with great interest. The visualizations show various types of data:

• Mont Blanc peak, Alps – prepared on the independent task for working with rasters in QGIS by Ivelina Nikolaeva; a raster model of the relief is used in combination with hillshade and height coloring:

 

• Kilimanjaro – prepared according to the independent task for working with rasters in QGIS by Teodora Koleva using raster relief, hillshade and hypsometric coloring:

 

• the open-air museum – Pompeii – prepared on the independent task for working with rasters in QGIS by Lilia Matrachiyska. Below the satellite image visualized with hillshade layer below for better view:

 

• the majestic Pirin Mountain – prepared according to the independent task for working with rasters in QGIS by Lilia Matrachiyska:

 

• city of Sozopol – prepared on the independent task related to work with various types of data in QGIS by Teodora Koleva:

 

Last but not least, we share with you a small part of the shared opinions and impressions of our participants. We are grateful to receive these positive feedback, as well as all participants embarked on our summer GIS challenge with so much enthusiasm and inspiration!

We are glad that you did not give up in the face of the difficulties that arose in your way in this new digital world! It is a real pleasure for us to work and study together!