Youth aged 15 to 18 can apply for the “Endeavour” competition until November 30th, led, among others, by the Polish Space Agency. Four winners will participate in space training at the Space & Rocket Center in the United States.
The Al Worden “Endeavour” Scholarship, awarded since 2019, is an international initiative encouraging young people to pursue careers as scientists, engineers, or explorers. Students from the USA, UK, France, Chile, Singapore, Australia, and Bahrain have participated so far. In Poland, the competition for the Al Worden “Endeavour” Scholarship – Polish Team 2024 is organized for the first time. The goal, as indicated by the Polish Space Agency (PAK), is to encourage young people in Poland to be interested in the exact sciences and highlight the interdisciplinary nature of the space industry.
Four representatives from Poland will be selected from the submitted applications, and in July 2024, they will undergo a week of training with space industry specialists at the Space & Rocket Center in the United States.
“The participation of winners in such training is not only an adventure but also a moment that will likely shape their future choices. We hope that these individuals will permanently connect with the space sector and help us create it in Poland,” said Anna Bukiewicz-Szul from the Polish Space Agency.
She added that the recruitment process is two-stage. The first stage involves submitting an application to PAK’s website and preparing a maximum 2-minute video presenting the subject of their research, scientific problem, ongoing project, or area of interest related to the exact or engineering sciences. The competition task can be submitted in the scientific category (exact sciences, engineering sciences) or non-scientific category (humanities, culture and art, sports).
“By creating these two categories, we wanted to draw the attention of young people to the fact that the Cosmos needs all talents, not just the exact ones. We really hope that the final four will be diverse,” emphasized Bukiewicz-Szul.
Participants in the competition should also have a communicative level of English (minimum B2). Their physical and mental health must allow for air travel to the USA and back, as well as participation in the Space Camp, which includes physical activities (such as running, swimming, diving).
The second stage of the competition, scheduled for January 15, 2024, at the Copernicus Science Center in Warsaw, will invite 20 people (10 from each category). Finalists, according to the competition rules, will participate in two competitions, including solving tasks in groups.
When asked by PAP about the characteristics the jury will pay special attention to in the finalists, Bukiewicz-Szul explained that “certainly important are no communication problems in the group, entrepreneurship, resourcefulness, sharpness, and ingenuity in solving problems.” “We want this foursome to be a showcase for Poland,” she added.
In addition to the final four, the committee will also select four individuals who will be placed on the reserve list.
The initiator of the Endeavour scholarship program was Colonel Alfred Merrill Worden – an astronaut, pilot of the Endeavour command module during the Apollo 15 program, a global advocate for education in the exact sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
The organizer of the program, as announced by PAK, is the AI Worden Endeavour Scholarship Foundation, and the partners of the Polish edition are Targi Kielce and the Polish Space Agency. (PAP)
Author: Paulina Kurek
Komentarze
