Meghalaya: ISRO to Launch Special Space Training Program ‘START’ in USTM

SHILLONG: The University of Science and Technology Meghalaya (USTM) has been chosen by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) as a nodal centre for their unique initiative called Space Science and Technology Awareness Training (START).

The project, which will include a variety of space research fields, including astronomy and astrophysics, heliophysics and the Sun-Earth interaction, instrumentation, and aeronautics, will be run by scientists from Indian academic institutions and ISRO institutes.

It should be mentioned that USTM is the only centre in the northeast chosen by ISRO to run the START project, which enables postgraduate and final year undergraduate students to actively participate in space science and technology research. The START initiative, according to USTM Vice Chancellor Prof. GD Sharma, is a part of ISRO's attempts to help Indian students pursue careers in space science and technology as the organization's space scientific exploration programme continues to diversify into new fields.

The USTM Nodal Centre for START program's coordinator and head of the physics department claimed the programme would run for two to three hours each day for two to three weeks in July to August 2023.

The START program's participant registration has begun and will last until July 15, 2023. Notably, ISRO provides the START programme at no cost. There are no entrance or registration fees.

The lectures will discuss the Indian space science exploration programme and available research opportunities in the field of space science and technology.

The training programme will give students a general understanding of the various aspects of space science and technology, exposure to the research being conducted in various Indian institutes, insight into how their particular aptitudes would fit some of the facets of space science and technology, and help them choose their career paths accordingly.

The principal organisation in India for carrying out duties pertaining to space-based applications, space exploration, and the advancement of related technology is ISRO. It is one of only six national space agencies in the world with full launch capability, cryogenic engine deployment, extraterrestrial mission launching, and huge fleets of man-made satellite operations.

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