GIS - Open Source
In this course, you’ll learn how to efficiently find, evaluate, and immediately use geographic data in QGIS via geoportals and data services. You’ll work with QGIS geoportals and plugins—such as the QGIS Hub plugin and the QGIS Copernicus plugin—to load up-to-date datasets, maps, and services along with their associated metadata.
Would you like to learn how to efficiently find and use reliable, up-to-date geodata in QGIS? In the QGIS Geoportals course, you’ll learn how to access geographic datasets directly within QGIS via geoportals and data services. You’ll discover how geoportals are used for analysis, monitoring, and informing policy and research—without the need for separate downloads or complex configurations.
QGIS is a powerful open-source GIS platform for analyzing and visualizing geographic data. In this course, you’ll build on your basic QGIS knowledge and learn to work with geoportals, metadata, and services such as WMS, WFS, and WMTS. You’ll use plugins like the QGIS Hub plugin and the Copernicus plugin to load datasets, maps, and satellite data directly into your GIS project.
Working with geoportals in QGIS goes beyond simply retrieving data. You’ll learn how to interpret metadata, assess the quality and timeliness of data, and combine datasets responsibly. The course also covers data provenance, licenses, and reproducibility, ensuring that analyses remain transparent and verifiable.
In the QGIS Geoportals course, you’ll learn how to apply geodata from various sources in practical workflows—for example, for spatial analysis, monitoring, reporting, or policy studies. The course demonstrates how to use open-source tools to work efficiently and effectively with external data sources within your existing GIS environment.
Please note! To fully follow the course curriculum, prior knowledge of QGIS is required. If you do not have this, we recommend the
In this course, you’ll learn step by step how geoportals and data services function within QGIS. You’ll start with the basics: what geoportals are, what types of services exist, and how they differ from local datasets.
Next, you’ll get hands-on experience with:
You’ll learn not only how to find data, but also how to use it responsibly as a basis for analysis and decision-making.
This course is unique because it focuses entirely on working with geoportals in QGIS in a practical way. No standalone portals or manual downloads—just direct links to reliable data sources. You’ll learn how to use data in a reproducible and transparent way within open-source GIS.
Among other things, you’ll learn:
The course is hands-on, open-source, and focused on realistic GIS applications.
This course is intended for GIS users who want to work efficiently and effectively with external geodata. Do you work in land-use planning, the environment, ecology, infrastructure, research, cartography, or policy? Then this course offers immediate added value. You’ll need a basic understanding of QGIS, but no prior experience with geoportals or data services. Are you tired of searching and downloading data and want to work directly with reliable source data in QGIS? Then “QGIS Geoportals” is the logical next step.
Need help?
Contact usOn the first day, you’ll be introduced to the concept of geoportals and the role of data services within QGIS. You’ll learn what geoportals are, the different types that exist (national, European, thematic), and how they relate to local datasets and manual downloads. The course covers service types such as WMS, WFS, WMTS, and API connections.
You’ll gain hands-on experience using the QGIS Hub plugin to search for, evaluate, and directly add datasets, maps, and services to your QGIS project. You’ll also learn how to read and interpret metadata, how to assess data quality and currency, and how to document provenance and licenses for reproducible use.
Topics for Day 1:
On the second day, you’ll delve deeper into the use of thematic geoportals and satellite data. You’ll learn how to work with the Copernicus plugin to access European satellite data and explore how this data can be combined with other geoportal sources within QGIS. The focus is on integrating external data into analysis and mapping workflows. You’ll learn how to responsibly combine data from geoportals, how to manage updates and version differences, and how to set up reproducible GIS projects. Attention will also be given to practical applications such as monitoring, reporting, and policy analysis.
Topics for Day 2:
Do you have questions about the course content? Or are you unsure whether the course aligns with your learning goals or preferences? Would you prefer an in-house or private course? We’d be happy to help.
The QGIS Hub plugin serves as a central gateway to geoportals and data catalogs. You will learn how to use this plugin to search for datasets and services (WMS, WFS, WMTS), review metadata, and load data directly into QGIS, allowing you to work with source data in a reproducible manner without having to download files separately.
The Copernicus plugin gives you direct access to satellite data from the Copernicus program, such as Sentinel images. In this course, you will learn how this satellite data relates to national and regional geoportals, and when Copernicus is suitable for monitoring, time series, or large-scale analysis.
You will work with a selection of commonly used national and international geoportals, including:
In this course, you will learn how to combine datasets from different geoportals, both technically and in terms of content. The course focuses on differences in scale, timeliness, projections, and definitions, and teaches you how to explicitly document these so that your analyses remain transparent, verifiable, and reproducible.
Yes, you need to have a solid grasp of the basics of QGIS to fully follow along with the program. If you don’t have this knowledge yet, we recommend the QGIS basics course.
