The I4is have created the 'Interstellar Challenge Day' for school students in year 12
John Davies, senior researcher and school educational lead at i4is, created the interstellar challenge day for schools in collaboration with STEMLearning Ltd and the British Interplanetary Society. Eight London schools entered teams to take part in the challenge in December that was hosted by Imperial College London Outreach department supported by student members of the Imperial College UK SEDS team.
Based on an idea from i4is Executive Director Kelvin Long and originally implemented with the Masters students at the International Space University, Strasbourg, the school event was similarly framed but aimed at the Year 12 level. "How might we travel to the stars?", not just technically of course but also how would a 'ship' be run or paid for etc with plenty of scope across STEM subjects and wider; enough for all the students to be involved.
After several hours work the teams of six presented their solutions and the best idea won the day. A judging panel was made up from the organisations mentioned above and included i4is members supporting the day, Richard Osborne and Jeremy Clark as well as Davies and Rob Swinney.
