Student guide

The lab is a special course – GIS and Green Skills Lab – cloud services – that you open with Labs in the top bar. It is the entry point to the practical tools of the project: web maps, Python notebooks, remote desktops with specialised software and the booking of supervised lab sessions.

Note: The lab services run in the local cloud of UACEG. During the pilot phase some of them are still being connected. The table below shows what you can use now and what depends on the administrator.

Service	What it offers	Status
Web map	An interactive map (OpenStreetMap, Sofia) embedded directly in the course page.	Available.
Lab tasks and data	Step-by-step exercises, data sets and notebook templates.	Available.
Session booking	Choice activity with limited seats for supervised sessions.	Available.
JupyterHub	Python notebooks with GDAL, geopandas and rasterio, opened as an external tool.	Works after the UACEG server is connected.
Remote desktop	QGIS, ArcGIS Pro and CAD software (for example AutoCAD, Civil 3D) on lab machines, in the browser.	Works after the remote-desktop gateway is connected.

Working with the web map

1. Open the page with the web map in the lab course.
2. Drag the map with the mouse (or use the arrow keys when the map has focus) and zoom with the + and − buttons or the mouse wheel.
3. Click objects on the map to see their information (if available) and use the map as a basis for the lab tasks.

Tip: When you use map screenshots in your work, always give the attribution © OpenStreetMap contributors.

JupyterHub notebooks

The activity JupyterHub – GIS lab (UACEG) is an External tool. When the server is connected:

1. Click the activity. You are signed in to JupyterHub automatically with your platform account – no separate password.
2. Your personal notebook environment starts (it may take up to a minute the first time).
3. Open a notebook template (for example Coordinate systems and georeferencing, Buffer analysis of green infrastructure, NDVI from Sentinel-2) and run the cells one by one with Shift+Enter.
4. Save your work regularly; download the finished notebook (.ipynb) or export it as HTML/PDF and submit it in the corresponding assignment.

Until the server is available, you can download the notebooks from the Resource hub and run them on your own computer (for example in Anaconda or VS Code) or in another Jupyter environment.

Remote desktop with specialised software

Some software (for example ArcGIS Pro or CAD programs) needs licences and powerful computers. The remote desktop gives you such a machine in your browser:

1. Book a seat for the session (see below) – the number of seats is limited by the software licences.
2. At the booked time open the remote-desktop link in the lab course and log in.
3. Work in the virtual desktop as on a normal computer; save files in the folder indicated in the lab instructions and download your results before you log out.

Note: The remote desktop is available only after the administrator has connected the gateway and the lab machines. Until then, use QGIS (free) on your own computer or the computers in the university lab.

Booking a supervised lab session

1. In the lab course open Book a supervised lab session – week 41 (or the current week).
2. Choose a free time slot and click Save my choice (chapter 14).
3. The session appears among your commitments; come on time (on site or online as stated in the description).
4. If you cannot come, click Remove my choice as early as possible.

Good practice in the lab

• Read How to use the lab in the course before your first session.
• Keep data and results well named (for example 2026-10_NDVI_Sofia_team-A.tif) and keep copies outside the lab environment.
• Use only data you are allowed to use and respect their licences.
• Log out of the remote desktop and JupyterHub when you finish, so that resources are freed for others.