Dina Johnny (Dubai)
Space science has begun to occupy a large part of the activities and subjects in many educational systems. The agencies, bodies and institutions concerned with the space industries and sciences, and those in charge of education in countries, do not stop inviting schools and students to focus on space sciences as it is the key to the future labor market, which secures its owner a professional position and financial returns that surpass other industrial and engineering fields.
A number of experts and specialists spoke to Al-Ittihad about the developments of the academic map of educational institutions and the expansion of space science teaching, and they said: We rarely find today a space agency that does not include within its services an educational or training program that it offers either in its centers or through school tours, or through partnerships Its contract with the ministries of education or local authorities, in addition to distance learning activities, whose share took off in particular during the “Corona” pandemic.
They added: While in previous years these training activities were limited to university students, today the focus is on younger age groups, starting with kindergarten, as many representatives of space agencies consider that attracting students to this industry begins by stirring curiosity from a young age, and introducing the applications of science and technology. Space in our daily life and how to benefit from it.
Experts and representatives of space institutions and agencies in the world stressed to the Union the importance of space sciences in education, and the need to focus on students of all age groups to attract them to a sector that was yesterday an elite specialization, and today it has turned into a popular and required field.
for satellite applications
Alessandra Vernell of the European non-profit organization Orizzi, located in Paris, talked about the applications of space science and its importance to societies and individuals, through which the need arises for more students and competencies in this sector, saying: “Orizi” brings together space agencies, international organizations, research institutions and companies. Participating in or interested in space-related activities throughout Europe. It stimulates dialogue and cooperation between public institutions, SMEs, industry and academia from the space and non-space sectors. It aims to build strong relationships with new communities in space, to encourage innovative uses of satellite applications to respond to current challenges.
Regarding space and education, she said that Orizzi launched in 2020 a European-funded GIS project for schools, and it will continue until the end of 2023. The project involves students in learning STEM disciplines, which include science, technology, engineering, mathematics and the arts, by introducing the teaching of GIS technology that Not yet adopted in secondary schools, applied to “climate change” issues of increasing interest from young people, as well as using satellite data for the first time.
She said the data is provided by the European Earth Observation Program “Copernicus”, and is used to help students jointly create GIS-based services.
Investigative Science
On the teaching methodology in the programme, Alessandra Vernell said: It combines inquiry-based science education approaches and problem-based learning in an interdisciplinary context. Students will learn how to obtain information and data to convert it into a GIS product and use it to analyze their pre-defined local climate challenges.
She emphasized that the program contributes to increasing students’ knowledge of STEAM topics and acquiring new skills in analyzing and managing GIS data, open data statistics and techniques for analyzing environmental, economic and social phenomena, thus increasing students’ tendency to choose STEAM topics in their university life. As well as increasing students’ environmental awareness, civic participation and responsible citizenship, increasing teachers’ knowledge and acquiring new skills in teaching “STEM” specializations in terms of content and methodologies, and adopting innovative educational units in schools focusing on geographic information systems that have not yet been covered in traditional school curricula.
Farmers’ crises
In turn, Anna Lisa Donati, representative of the organization, explained that the space industry is already directing educational systems to graduate more specialized students, and said that the market needs new competencies and skills in technology and space; Because this sector, including its technologies, data and images, stores great potentials for their use in the future that may not be clear today.
She said that addressing farmers’ crises, for example, or rural green belts, or forest fires, beach erosion, and improving soil quality needs to analyze satellite images and extract indicators, data and reports to be able to use them to bring about real change.
group projects
Nassim Bouvier of the International Space University and the Space Studies Program based in Portugal, pointed out the small and tight-knit community that the university represents with only 300 graduates annually, who today occupy senior positions in various disciplines in the most important space agencies.
He said that half of the participants in the university’s program are engineering graduates, while the other half are divided into other disciplines, including management, law, finance, arts and humanities, in addition to the gender balance between males and females.
Program participants work on group projects to address current and future challenges in the space sector.
The Space Studies Program offers an intensive nine-week course in various locations around the world. It provides courses in all aerospace disciplines, as well as practical training through workshops and professional visits.
He pointed out that the space sector and its specializations are not only related to technologies and engineering, but rather bring together all possible disciplines, pointing out that the program has gathered for years graduates from various colleges, united by a love of space sciences.
He stressed that the last session of the program witnessed the presence of scholars from the Emirates, pointing out that the university aspires in the next stage to be present in the UAE due to the growth witnessed by the space sector in it.
Building a knowledge economy
Amna Al Nuaimi from the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center said that the UAE is moving towards a knowledge economy, and encouraging students to study STEM materials is the way to achieve the country’s vision and strategies.
The center provides many learning and training opportunities inside and outside the UAE in cooperation with partners, including providing research experiences for university students, school visits, the space exploration camp, the “Teachers Ambassador” programs, “Zero Gravity” and “Discover the Red Planet”.
Regarding the most prominent challenges facing the generalization of space science programs, she said that the most prominent challenge was the obstacle to visiting schools due to the “Corona” pandemic, in addition to the complete distancing of students at the beginning of the application of the workshops from everything related to space science, who showed in later stages a great improvement and understanding of concepts. and information.
On how to bring space science closer to the general public, she said it is important to highlight how space science applications can be benefited from on Earth so that people can link them to practices and services they have experienced, such as X-rays in hospitals, smart phone devices, and others.
Regarding the mission of discovering Mars, she said that it is important for students to know that the studies that are taking place today on Mars, aim to enable us to understand the phenomena on Earth, and how to improve its conditions, such as the climate and the factors affecting it, for example.
She stated that the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center, through the “Generation of Hope” project, provides new images and information from satellites after preparing and presenting them in a manner appropriate for different age groups.
future industry
Jakob Stilmachowski of the Polish Space Agency said that space science is the industry of the future, and agencies should make students more involved in it from a young age, drawing on their innate curiosity and the mystery that surrounds the sky for them and makes it a space for their imaginations.
He said that the Polish Space Agency organizes educational activities in space technology, Polish space policy, participation in space missions and experiments, directed at all age groups and different societies. It also works on involving students in aerospace engineering programs, working on applied projects and workshops, and adopting the experimental and training curriculum.
He considered that bringing space sciences closer to students and parents begins by introducing them to the applications that we use in our daily lives and which were mainly used in space sciences, such as map services, globes and microprocessors, all of which are based on space technology.
He considered that, of course, space agencies prepare generations to work in this industry, but it is not easy to prepare curricula that suit all students from kindergarten to twelve.
He said the Polish Space Agency is working with a group of schools on how to use data from satellites, or how to use the technologies that built the foundation for space and are currently in use.
School training programs
Dr. Somaya Mohamed from the Egyptian Space Agency – Satellite Communications Department pointed to the increasing awareness of the importance of space sciences in education and in the labor market. Therefore, the agency recently started training programs for school students after years of implementing them with university students.
Recently, it launched the CanSat project for school students, which includes an educational satellite through which many technical and engineering applications can be applied, simulating a real satellite. The agency is implementing this project in its first phase in STEM technology schools in Egypt, to be gradually circulated to the rest of the schools.
She said that after recognizing the importance of this sector and raising awareness about it, the manufacturing phase must first begin with everything related to space products.
She pointed out that the Egyptian space program has launched 35 models of satellites, from which 28 multidisciplinary universities have benefited, from engineering to computer science and technologies. As for the most prominent challenges, they focus on simplifying the new concepts for students, and being able to train large groups of teachers to form the training nucleus in the program to speed up the process of implementation and awareness.
She pointed out that the educational community will be more interested in space science whenever it is confirmed that these applications affect daily life and improve the services that benefit from it.
Simple and understandable templates
We are living in a “new space” period in which the costs of spaceflight are lower than in previous decades, said Marshall Win Bronziol of Innospace in Korea. He pointed out that this is the main reason for the boom in the space industry that we are witnessing today, which is reflected in the labor market and the educational sector.
He said that space sciences should be presented to students and parents in understandable and simplified forms, and link them to tangible matters that individuals do on a daily basis, pointing out that otherwise will not contribute to achieving a great leap in the demand for those sciences.
He pointed out that children and students should always know how space sciences and technologies affect their daily lives.
Satellites can accurately monitor the transformations of the planet, minerals, gases and the state of the Earth, and provide better services through the data that can be collected.
He pointed out that smart phone technology will have greater potential thanks to space technology, as well as charging services, in which the monitoring process has become more accurate and effective, and cloud computing as well.
He pointed out that the role of education and teachers and linking them with scholars is very large in providing all this in a manner that suits each category.
A tool to inspire children
Nick Mercy of the Australian Space Agency said that the space world is an inspiring material that attracts children to the skills required in the labor market, which focus on STEAM materials. He pointed to the need for young talents capable of achieving growth in the economy; Therefore, educational systems focus on the STEM program, which combines mathematics, science, engineering, technology, and the arts.
He said that space science today is no longer confined to technologies related to this industry only, but rather to benefit from the data issued by it to enable different business sectors to provide new and accurate services that enhance competitiveness.
He pointed out that many companies and organizations in Australia in various fields, such as exploration, transportation, agriculture, water and engineering, have begun to study the use of space science-based technology, which will help them to be more competitive in their services compared to others. He pointed out that governments can also benefit from this data to prevent more fires and floods.
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