Daily Times

Institute of Space Technology (IST), National Center of GIS and Space Applications (NCGSA) on Thursday inaugurated World Space Week 2022 celebrations held at IST with a participation of over 2000 students from across Pakistan.

Dean IST, Dr. Suhail Akhtar was chief guest on the occasion while Chairman NCGSA, Dr. Najam Abbas Naqvi also graced the ceremony. With the preliminary round conducted online from Sept 19-23, the final round of the WSW 2022 competitions is being held on-ground at IST from Oct 6-8. In view of the interdisciplinary nature of Space Science and Technology, the competitions and activities are planned to engage and entice students of different interests and talents, including literary and artistic interests of the young minds.

The spectrum of competitions encompasses more than 100 modules for school and college students, in 12 major categories, including Space Recitations, Space Quiz, Space Creative Writing, Space Applications, Space Innovation, Space Technology Demonstration, Space Models and Collectables, Space Fine Arts, Space Performing Arts, Space Architectures, Space for UN SDGs and Space Life.

The competitions will be complemented by various talks, seminars, and webinars from national and international subject matter experts throughout the Space Week.

These especially crafted events are designed in the purview of the current socio economic situation of the country, and to find solutions to achieve UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through Space Science, Technology and its Applications.

Following the legacy of the past 17 years, WSW 2022 will engage more than 2000 participants from over 40 schools, colleges and universities across Pakistan.

It is an annual practice for the IST to arrange this week-long space festivity as part of the global nexus of educating people about the bounties of space, encourage greater use of space technology for sustainable socio-economic development, excite young people about space science and technology, foster international cooperation in space outreach and education, and demonstrate public support for space programs.

Each year, thousands of space enthusiasts participate in these celebrations around the world to acknowledge the contributions of space science and technology towards the betterment of the mankind.

The brainchild of United Nations General Assembly President Miroslav Sedivy, World Space Week has been celebrated around the world, annually, since its inception in 1999, making it one of the longest running space-themed events in the world.

World Space Week 2022 is being organized under the theme of ‘Space and Sustainability’ as declared by the World Space Week Association (WSWA) for the year 2022.