GUWAHATI, June 23: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has selected the University of Science and Technology Meghalaya (USTM) as a nodal centre for their special programme called Space Science and Technology Awareness Training (START).
Scientists from Indian academia and ISRO centres will be conducting the programme which will cover various domains of space science, including astronomy and astrophysics, heliophysics and Sun-Earth interaction, instrumentation and aeronomy.
It may be noted that USTM is the only centre in the northeastern region that has been selected by ISRO to conduct the START programme to facilitate the active participation of postgraduate and final year undergraduate students in space science and technology research.
Speaking in this regard, USTM vice chancellor G.D Sharma said the START programme was part of ISRO’s efforts to enable Indian students to become professionals in space science and technology, as the organisation’s space science exploration programme continues to expand into new domains.
“Since the programme is online, along with our own students, we wish to accommodate the interested students from the region,” Sharma said.
Nitu Borgohain, coordinator of the USTM Nodal Centre for START programme and head of the department of physics said the programme would be conducted for two to three hours per day for a duration of two to three weeks during July-August 2023.
The participants’ registration for the START programme have started and will continue till July 15, 2023.
Notably, the START programme is offered by ISRO free of cost. There is no registration fee/admission fee.
An introductory-level awareness programme in space science and technology, the START programme is envisaged to be organised in online mode in order to reach out to as many of the space enthusiasts as possible.
Although primarily aimed at undergraduate and postgraduate students of science and technology, the programme is designed to be suitable for any individual with basic, systematic training in science, at least up to the high school level.
The lectures will cover topics on the Indian space science exploration programme and research opportunities in space science and technologies.
The training programme will help students get an overview of the different facets of space science and technology, exposure to the research ongoing in different Indian institutes, insight into how their individual aptitude would suit some of the facets of space science and technology, and accordingly help them choose their career paths.