A Nasa stint for 35 Emirati students

ABU DHABI — Thirty-five Emirati students from the UAE have been selected for the first time, to go through a week-long training at the US space agency, Nasa.

by

Olivia Olarte-Ulherr

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Published: Wed 4 Apr 2012, 9:48 PM

Last updated: Fri 3 Apr 2015, 4:26 PM

The high school students aged between 12 and 18 from the Institute of Applied Technology (IAT) left on Saturday and are currently undergoing intensive training at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) - Johnson Space Centre, US.

The student training was part of the Space Ed-Ventures initiative by the Arab Youth Venture Foundation, to provide space academy experiences for the youth in partnership with Nasa through hands-on science, engineering and technology projects at multiple Nasa centres in the US for secondary and high school students in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. In a meeting with the students before their departure, Dr Abdullatif Al Shamsi, director general of IAT, urged them to take full advantage of the programme and their practical training to learn from Nasa’s sophisticated and specialised expertise in space and aviation.

“IAT is always looking at major industrial enterprises and specialised scientific countries that apply the latest technologies in order to ensure that our youth are trained in various disciplines that are required by the global labour market and according to the needs of the UAE,” he stated. The Nasa programme offers comprehensive training ground for students who wished to further their studies in future at Al Ain International Academy of Aviation.

Hussain Al Ansari, vice president of development projects at the Arab Youth Venture Foundation and CEO of Space Ed-Ventures said 80 students applied for the programme, but 35 were shortlisted based on their English language skills and their interest in space engineering.

olivia@khaleejtimes.com


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