As part of their training, WASCAL scholars pursuing masters in Climate Change and Informatics at the University Joseph Ky- Zerbo of Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso, visited the WASCAL automatic weather station in Bossa and research facilities at the Competence Centre in Ouagadougou.
The objective of the visit, which was the first of its kind, for the programme, was to combine theory and practice to sharpen students’ knowledge. It provided a unique opportunity for the young climate data experts to experience a fully automated weather station through its different sensors and how it operates in providing instantaneous climate variable.
Exposing on the objective of the visit, Dr. Seyni Salack, senior scientist at WASCAL competence centre, spoke about the importance of the visit
“This visit is to put all the theoretical exposure into practice for the benefit of the students to strengthen their knowledge in climate data operation and management’’.
The students also paid a visit to the Competence Centre where they had a guided tour of research facilities like the High-Performance Computer (HPC) room composed of wascalweathernet.org platform, and the GIS and remote sensing Laboratory. There were several dialogues with other experts on the operations of the various facilities in terms of data storage and management, capacity building trainings of scientists, students and consultants and remote accessibility of the HPC data for modelers across the region.
Prof. Kehinde Ogunjobi, Director of Research of WASCAL Competence Centre, urged students to take advantage of the visit to broaden and deepen their knowledge in data acquisition, storage, and management; it could also help, as future climate scientists, in their choice of relevant topics for their future career but also for the benefit of the West African region.