Daily Times

The sixth Space Summer School organized by National Center of GIS and Space Applications (NCGSA) concluded after enlightening the participants with the applications of space technology, and its spin-offs directly contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

The sixth Space Summer School was organized by NCGSA through one of its constituent lab named Space Education Research Lab, and Institute of Space Technology (IST), Islamabad.

The week-long space rendezvous embarked with knowledge about earth, before accelerating towards wonders of deep space, covering the intricacies of atmosphere, aviation, rocketry, satellite technology and astronomy and astrophysics.

The event was joined by over 115 students from 45 different institutes of Pakistan under two categories: Abecedarian (Grade 5th-8th) and Virtuoso (Grade 9th-12th).

Space Summer School 2022 invigorated the participants with a lifetime learning experience and a unique educational exposure through interactive lectures, question answer sessions, hands-on activities, workshops, technology demonstrations and webinars delivered by renowned academicians and researchers.

The academicians and researchers including Dr. Syed Wilayat Hussain (S.I), Dr. Gen. Jamshed Riaz (H.I), Dr. Ihtezaz Qamar (PoP),Dr. Aquib Moin (National Space Science Technology Centre, UAE), Ms. Rabia Munsaf (State University New York, USA) and Mr. Danial Amin (Space Technology Education and Popularization, Pakistan) delivered the webinars, workshops andother activities.

Several academicians and researchers from NCGSA and IST including, Dr. Najam Abbas Naqvi, Dr. Fazeel Mahmood Khan, Dr. Rehan Mahmood, Mr. Daniyal Mir, Mr. Muhammad Umar, Mr. Ibtehaj Hassan, and Mr. Mamoon Alvi, also delivered lectures.

The flamboyant galaxy of resource persons delivered more than 20 lectures and specialized workshops during the course of five days. The Space Summer School 2022 saw the participation from more than 15 cities across Pakistan.

The school featured specialized hands-on workshops on RC Quadcopters, Gliders, Water Rockets, and Astronomical Telescopes.

More than 15 space themed competitions in the two major categories of Space Creative Writing and Space Arts were also organized to render the literary and artistic interests of the young minds.

The school also featured a navigation scavenger hunt, career counseling session, and an astronomy night, where the participants and their families made observations through the largest publicly owned telescope in Pakistan. During the course of 5 days, participants visited key laboratories of IST related to Space Science and Engineering including, Small Satellite Technology and Research Lab, Global Navigation Satellite Systems Research Lab, Space and Astrophysics Research Lab, Propulsion Engineering and Research Lab, Avionics Design Lab, Aerodynamics Lab, Scanning Electron Microscope Lab, Photogrammetric Lab and Space Education Research Lab.

Participants also visited the aircraft hangers and Space Memorabilia – a model display of national satellites.

The closing ceremony was held at the IST to honor the participants and particularly the winners of the competitions. Souvenirs were awarded to winners of each competition by Dr. Abdul Waheed (Lab Director SERL) and Dr. Najam Abbas (Chairman NCGSA). Certificates of the participation were also awarded to all the participants of SSS 2022.

With the vision to be a national torch-bearer, in the realm of academics, through quality teaching, robust research and outreach – to produce leaders in the field of space science and technology, in line with national aspirations, IST started this specialized space summer school program in 2017.

Since its inception, SSS has engaged more than 1000 students from different parts of Pakistan, familiarizing and equipping the young space enthusiasts with latest trends, technologies and research breakthroughs in the space sector and enlightening them with the applications of space science technology in our daily lives.