...Preparing for the future


There were also many space-industry spin-offs which benefited the business and commercial world, she said, from research and development to technological advances. “So many of the things we take for granted every day are reliant on space: TV, broadband, mobile phones, satnavs – they’re all underpinned by space systems and assets. Even the timing signals for the trades on the London Stock Exchange come from satellites. That’s what determines whether the trade is made a second before the market closes or not,” said Ms Courtney.


INSPIRING STUDENTS AND TEACHERS Another organisation, the National Space Academy, provides inspiring contexts from space science to boost student science attainment, develop greater teacher effectiveness, and highlight career pathways into the UK space and wider science and engineering sectors. It is keen to invite organisations to help it support the education and skills development of the UK’s next generations of scientists and engineers.


Having worked with over 20,000 students, 4,000 teachers, and hundreds of university students and early- career space professionals since its launch in 2011, the academy is igniting the passion of teachers and pupils. Its 30-plus science teachers, project scientists and engineers train teachers to use its methodologies to reach hundreds of students per teacher. They also provide masterclasses for secondary-school and college students. From a school’s perspective, the National Space


Academy’s initiatives seem to be very effective. Ben Fell, a physics teacher at Uppingham School, in Rutland, said, “The whole day was excellent – a good use of practicals, demos and talks. The space context generates fantastic enthusiasm and a sense of relevance.”


Anu Ojha, director of the academy, believes that “qualifications in science, engineering and mathematics are among the most valuable currency that young people can have in a world whose future economic prosperity is being driven by job roles requiring these fundamental skills”. The academy established the UK’s first full-time courses for students in space engineering, was instrumental in the development of the UK’s first state schools with space contexts embedded throughout the curriculum (space studio schools) and co-led the development of the national higher apprenticeship programme for the space sector. Its results seem to be stunningly high. More than 80 per cent of space engineering alumni have gone on to degree courses in physics or engineering, or to industry apprenticeships in engineering.


Nigel Grainger was one of the first cohort of students


finishing the full-time course in summer 2014. He is now on the Airbus higher apprenticeship programme based in Bristol. “When I was looking at my options for an A Level course, I was put forward for the space engineering course at Loughborough College,” he said. “It was the best thing I have ever done. The course gave me a practical side, hands on, with the BTEC aspect of the course, as well as the theory side in A Level maths and physics.”


Fahima Sayed finished the space engineering course in summer 2015, and has gone on to study for a degree in aeronautical engineering at Loughborough University. “The course gave me an early insight into what


engineering involves and allowed me to gain numerous valuable skills,” she explained. “Alongside my studies, I had the opportunity to spend one week at the Space Research Centre at the University of Leicester.


“I worked alongside researchers and engineers. This helped me immensely with my current engineering project,


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