# What I Learned from Building with GIS Data and the Copernicus API at the KijaniSpace Hackathon
As software developers, we often spend most of our time building APIs, databases, authentication systems, and web applications. That's certainly been my focus recently, especially working with Go, JWT authentication, and backend services. Last week, however, I had the opportunity to participate in the KijaniSpace Hackathon , held at Zone01 Kisumu , and it introduced me to an entirely different side of software development. Our challenge was to build solutions using: Geographic Information Systems (GIS) The Copernicus API IoT devices where applicable It was an opportunity to see how software can interact with our physical world. What is GIS? GIS (Geographic Information Systems) is a technology used to collect, analyze, visualize, and manage data that has a geographic location. Imagine not just storing information like: Temperature Population Vegetation Buildings Roads ...but also knowing exactly where that information exists on Earth. That location data allows developers to build intelligent systems capable of answering questions like: Which farms are experiencing drought? Which roads are likely to flood? Which areas are losing forest cover? Where should new infrastructure be built? GIS transforms ordinary data into meaningful geographic insights. Discovering the Copernicus Program Before this hackathon, I had heard very little about Copernicus. Copernicus is the European Union's Earth Observation Programme. It provides free satellite imagery and environmental data collected by the Sentinel satellite missions. Through its APIs, developers can access information about: Land cover Vegetation health Weather patterns Water bodies Air quality Climate changes Disaster monitoring What amazed me most is that much of this data is openly available for developers to build impactful applications. Where IoT Fits In Some teams also explored Internet of Things (IoT) solutions. IoT devices can collect real-world information through sensors measuring: Soil moisture Temperature Humidi