Head of Long-term Action Section, European Space Agency
Dr Benjamin Koetz
Dr Benjamin Koetz
Benjamin Koetz is the head of the Long-term Action Section in the Earth Observation Directorate of the European Space Agency. His tasks focus on developing partnerships co- designed together with international user communities and stakeholders with the goal of long- term and sustainable adoption of Earth Observation (EO) information in operations. These partnerships are based on the development of innovative EO applications in close collaboration with relevant user communities, scientists and EO service providers. In particular, he collected over the last 15 years extensive experience collaborating with the African EO community and relevant international partners leading the TIGER initiative and setting up the EO AFRICA (EO African Framework for Research, Innovation, Communities and Applications) initiative. Benjamin represents ESA at the GMES & Africa Policy Coordination and Advisory Committee (PCAC) of the African Union Commission and acts as focal point of contact for Africa at the Earth Observation Directorate of ESA. Benjamin Koetz received his M.Sc. degree in Environmental Sciences with a major in Remote Sensing from the University of Trier, Germany. He also holds a Ph.D. with a specialization in Earth Observation from the University of Zürich, Switzerland. His scientific expertise focuses on the development of physically-based methodologies to derive geo-biophysical EO products with a total of 20+ years experience in the field of satellite Earth Observation.
