FEATURE: VIEW FROM THE CLASSROOM
science, such as physics, chemistry and geography, space technology is an excellent way of attracting more interest amongst our students to follow a STEM-related career path. Furthermore, whilst effective models already exist for the hardware engineering design process (such as the EDP), the software engineering process (such as Agile) and the Scientific Method for experiments (long promoted by the Royal Society), the future of space technology more specifically requires an approach that considers the bespoke, coded automation of space science engineering.
Which subject matter experts are you collaborating with to develop the new A-level extension Space Technology Diploma provision?
Harmonious with our Royal Society STEM Partnership project opportunity this year, our collaborative efforts have strengthened with three NASA organisations, to pilot a new experiential learning approach for our UK-wide computer science A level students. NASA DEVELOP, an established undergraduate field internships planner and provider, has shared insight that commercial internships more frequently require skills in programming. Our attempt to establish a computer-science focused version of their existing model aims to miniaturise and ‘scaffold’ the multifaceted elements of automated-engineering field experiment projects, which on an industrial level would involve a multitude of computer programming techniques.
By reducing the concepts of industry-scale automated projects into manageable, student field-project form, and by delivering reduced-level exemplar automation codes for the student-tailored projects in one language, students can pull apart the different working exemplar sections and adapt them to make them their own. Whilst the full exemplar engineering project remains intact and working, students may make in-context sense of the individual components they are investigating within the project. Carried out on the existing AWS cloud platform, the student-level field project is also easily scalable. We are currently calling this experiential learning method ‘Scaffolded-Project- Immersion’. Our DEVELOP-inspired learning model, still true to the organisation’s ambition to encompass the building of end products beneficial to target communities, has been
July/August 2023
embellished to also promote the more specific computer engineering skills of ‘Failure Mode’ thinking and team coder progress transparency. To reach community-desired solutions, the students’ end goal is to build and run normalisation and trajectory tool algorithms on-demand via our new AWS student cloud application, whilst following guidance and inspiration from the work of NASA IMPACT, a specialist group who prototype support technologies for Earth observation data.
What do your students study on the A-level extension diploma?
A notable requirement of the GDST Space Technology Diploma is each individual student’s Python programming portfolio. The student portfolio evidences their practical work delivered during the course of the year and is evaluated by a guest panel, in conjunction with a live practical task and viva assessment. The guest panel is made up of space industry professionals, who at different stages during the year have typically delivered resources or online presentations to the diploma cohort. The portfolio document also aims to double as an interview tool, presenting skills developed during the scope of the programme, and containing samples of tutorial codes, visualisations and data interpretive explanations by the student. Prescribed portfolio tasks cover project briefs such as remote data collection and transmission, predictive processing and visualisation of remote data, physical computing sensor robotics, computer vision, reduced deep space 2D array image and telemetry generation, and airborne device design simulations. Students opting for the distinction level certificate also have the opportunity to present an innovative new software pitch for space technology. Supporting guest speakers participating in lectures to date have visited from institutions such as the US Naval Academy and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, and have addressed topics such as integrated use of flat patch antenna propagation, avionics PID loop control engineering, quadratic models for regression charts, asynchronous communication in embedded systems, reaction wheels and Nadir sensing for orbiting satellites, ‘shake and bake’ payload rocket-vibrational analysis and coded ‘balloon marching’ for accurate HAB launching, rupture and landing location, to name a few.
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