useR! 2026

Introduction to spatial data science

6 Jul 2026, 09:00

3h

Tutorial (3 hours) All tracks Tutorials

Speaker

Krzysztof Dyba (Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan)

Description

Brief biography

Krzysztof Dyba is a senior lecturer at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan specializing in spatial data science and remote sensing. His teaching experience includes conducting four international workshops on R applications for satellite data at the OpenGeoHub Summer School, as well as leading an external course on “Advanced Spatial Analysis” at Maria Curie-Sklodowska University in Lublin. He is actively involved in the development of open-source software for spatial data analysis in R (#rspatial) and is a co-maintainer of the CRAN Spatial Task View.

Broad topic that it covers

Concept of spatial data, Raster data processing, Vector data processing, Spatial data visualization

Proposed maximum number of participants: 50

Time slot:

• morning (8:30-12:00)
• afternoon (13:00-16:30)

Abstract

Spatial data has become an integral part of research and decision-making across a wide range of disciplines, including ecology, sociology, public health, economics, and many others. What makes spatial data unique compared to conventional tabular data is its direct link to a location on the Earth's surface, enabling the analysis and visualization of data within a geographical context. Driven by an extensive ecosystem and strong community support, R stands as one of the leading programming languages for spatial analysis.
This hands-on workshop provides a fundamental introduction to spatial data analysis using the R programming language. Participants will explore two core spatial data models, namely vector and raster, using modern packages for processing, analyzing, and visualizing spatial datasets. The workshop will cover key concepts related to spatial data structures, coordinate reference systems, and geospatial operations, with a primary emphasis on application and exercises. After completing the workshop, participants will have acquired the practical skills necessary to integrate spatial data into their own research and projects.

Outline of the tutorial

1. Introduction (15 min)
2. Raster data processing (45 min)
3. Coffee break (15 min)
4. Vector data processing (45 min)
5. Spatial data visualization (45 min)
6. Q&A (15 min)

Link to the tutorial materials (if available)

The materials (in the form of notebooks) will be made available on GitHub before the workshop begins.

If you used AI tools or services to support the preparation of this submission, please state the name and reason for using each of them.

I used Google Gemini 3 to translate the workshop description from Polish into English and to proofread it.

Target audience (only for tutorials)

The workshop is intended for all interested people who want to start their adventure with spatial data.

Learning goals (only for tutorials)

1. Familiarization with the concept of spatial data.
2. Acquisition of practical skills in processing raster and vector data.
3. Learning how to visualize spatial data.

Prerequisites (only for tutorials)

Participants should have basic knowledge and skills in the R environment (e.g., data frames, functions). No prior experience with working with spatial data is required. Participants must have their own laptop with R installed (and RStudio is highly recommended).