A project developed by a team of representatives of the State Statistical Committee won the 2026 “CIAT Action Plan Competition” organized by the Azerbaijan Office of the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) among government officials.

Implementation of the winning project, entitled “Detection of Informal Settlements Using Google Earth Engine and AI: A Workshop and Training for Government Officials,” has already commenced.

As part of the project, a training programme is being organized for government officials. The training sessions are delivered by local and international experts engaged by the project team. Participants are gaining practical knowledge in geospatial data processing, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), QGIS and Google Earth Engine platforms, the R programming language, as well as the use of artificial intelligence technologies.

As part of the practical application of the knowledge gained, the project envisages the identification and mapping of informal settlements in the surrounding areas of Baku using satellite imagery and artificial intelligence technologies.

At the end of the project, a methodology will be developed for identifying such settlements that does not require additional financial resources and can be applied in different geographical areas. The methodology will be presented in both Azerbaijani and English.