Summer school tees off with exciting space-themed activities

Islamabad: Over 110 students from 90 schools and colleges of Pakistan assembled at the Institute of Space Technology (IST) Monday for a two-week Space Summer School (SSS) that got underway with ‘Space Technology Education and Popularisation’ as its theme.

SSS is an activity-based learning module covering 50 interactive sessions in 10 exploration tracks for students in two levels namely, abecedarian and virtuoso. It will have a canvas of space-themed activities, interactive lectures, hands-on workshops, space career counselling, Dr. Abdus Salam space contest, space creative writing, designing and arts, webinars, seminars and astronomy night. The summer school targets students from grade 5 to 12.

Speaking on the occasion, the curator of SSS Danial Amin emphasised the importance of space technology for Pakistan and declared SSS as a significant milestone. The Director General of ORIC Prof Dr. Zaffar Mohammad, who was the chief guest, applauded the initiative of creating awareness about space technology among youth and educating them about its benefits. IST Dean Dr. Iqbal Rasool Memon was also present.

SSS will cover interactive lectures in the domain of 10 exploration tracks namely the Earth, Atmosphere, Aviation, Rocketry, Satellite Technology, Space Travel, Space for Life, Space Agencies, Astronomy and Astrophysics and our contributions. It will host a special webinars with Europe Space Agency Astronaut Dr. Gerhard Thiele about the exquisiteness and challenges of space travel.

Another webinar on Astrobiology by Dr. Nozair Khawaja from Germany and Dr. Aquib Moin, UAE Space Agency, will motivate children about the applications of Space Science and Technology. SSS participants will be provided an opportunity to explore Planetarium, Aircraft Technology, CanSat Satellite development, Quad-copter Design, UAV design and Fabrication along with Astrolabe and Telescopy.

Participants will get a chance to visit space-related laboratories and will also do hands-on experiments under the supervision of faculty. The SSS team has developed a specialised Dr. Abdus Salam Space Contest, that will gauge the level of space learning of students. It will be a paper-based test on the ten exploration tracks of SSS and has been designed in line with international standards. Space Spellathon, space creative writing and space arts competitions will also be arranged to enhance the learning and vision of students. Solar observations and star gazing will be an addedhighlight of SSS.

IST, which has a legacy of arranging international and national events for creating public awareness regarding space technology, will hold the SSS from July 16-27. IST has been celebrating World Space Week for the last 13 years and is ranked first by the International World Space Week Association for organizing maximum number of events in Pakistan during 2017. Earlier, the Director of Student Affairs Dr. Najam Abbas and the Programme Head outlined the theme of the SSS.