The Careers Scotland Space School, also known as the Scottish Space School, is an organisation set up by

Careers Scotland Skills Development Scotland (SDS) is the national skills agency of Scotland. It is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government. History Created on 1 April 2008, SDS is a merger of former organisations and services whic ...

and funded by the Scottish Government. This is a government programme, organised as a partnership initiative with

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...

(National Aeronautics and Space Administration), to encourage young people to gain an interest in ''STEM'' subjects,

Science Science is a systematic endeavor that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earli ...

Technology Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and Reproducibility, reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in me ...

Engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

and

Maths Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

."Space School"
Careers Scotland

The Initiatives

The programme provides support teaching materials and includes provision for 120 pupils to attend a summer school, which focuses on electronics and life sciences, at the

University of Strathclyde The University of Strathclyde ( gd, Oilthigh Shrath Chluaidh) is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal chart ...

. There is also a series of visits to schools by

astronauts and scientists. For example, in June 2007 staff from

attended an exhibition in

Nairn Nairn (; gd, Inbhir Narann) is a town and royal burgh in the Highland council area of Scotland. It is an ancient fishing port and market town around east of Inverness, at the point where the River Nairn enters the Moray Firth. It is the tradi ...

. In 2007 it is using a staged competition-like structure, with the top prize (for 52 students) a 12-day trip to Johnson Space Center, in Houston, Texas.

Endorsing the Programme

In March 2007, Nick Patrick, to show his support for the Space School, returned to

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

, carrying a saltire flag that had been with him on his first NASA

space mission Spaceflight (or space flight) is an application of astronautics to fly spacecraft into or through outer space, either with or without humans on board. Most spaceflight is uncrewed and conducted mainly with spacecraft such as satellites in o ...

, with a student who was participating in the Space School. ''

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until August 2004. Its pare ...

'' described the initiative as "a world-leading programme". Alex Blackwood, the programme founder, won the 2006 ''Achievement in Education'' Sir Arthur Clarke Award."Space School founder up for award"

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

, 24 March 2006 A regular invited presenter at the school is the

Cyborg A cyborg ()—a portmanteau of ''cybernetic'' and ''organism''—is a being with both organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline.

scientist

Kevin Warwick Kevin Warwick (born 9 February 1954) is an English engineer and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) at Coventry University. He is known for his studies on direct interfaces between computer systems and the human nervous system, and has also done ...

References

{{reflist Organisations supported by the Scottish Government Education in Scotland Science education in the United Kingdom Science and technology in Scotland