African trainees hosted at HartRAO as new phase of the Development in Africa with Radio Astronomy (DARA) project gets underway
Twenty students from Kenya and Madagascar have been participating in radio astronomy training at SARAO’s Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory (HartRAO) from 4 to 15 November 2024.
The training forms part of the Development in Africa with Radio Astronomy (DARA) Basic Training programme in astronomy and radio astronomy, with 180 students expected to undertake this programme over the next three years.
As part of DARA’s Basic Training, students are exposed to hands-on training in radio astronomy techniques and technologies at either HartRAO in South Africa, or the Ghana Space Science and Technology Institute (GSSTI).
The DARA project, led by the University of Leeds, was awarded £6.5m by the UK’s International Science Partnerships fund to extend its astronomy / radio astronomy and data science training, together with regional research capacity development within the eight African countries of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) partnership. The Basic Training programme is a skills development initiative that will be continued under this third phase of the DARA project. The third phase of DARA will train over 220 Africans in astronomy, radio astronomy and data science, which will run until March 2027.
DARA’s Basic Training programme is structured into three cohorts of 60 students from the SKA Africa partner countries that will be trained over the three-year period. Each cohort will include students from South Africa, a new addition to DARA’s Basic Training, with a focus on science and engineering students from the Historically Disadvantaged Institutions (HDIs). The inclusion of students from the HDIs was successfully piloted in the previous rendition of the programme, which was carried out by DARA – KOTI (Kenya Optical Training Initiative) and funded by Leeds University’s International Strategy Fund.
The 20 Kenyan and Madagascan students participating in the training at HartRAO are part of the first cohort of students being trained as part of this new phase of the DARA project.
The 20 students from Kenya and Madagascar who have participated in radio astronomy training at SARAO’s Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory (HartRAO) from 4 to 15 November 2024.
Before arriving at HartRAO, the students undertook various courses such as an introduction to astrophysics, computational training that includes programming with Python, as well as hands-on optical astronomy training. The latter was introduced into the Basic Training programme through DARA-KOTI with students hosted at the Turkana Basin Institute in northern Kenya for the practical training in optical astronomy.
“Participating in the DARA radio astronomy training in South Africa was an enriching experience that expanded our understanding of radio astronomy,” says DARA trainee, Geovian Tadzi Stower, Astronautics and Space Engineer at the Kenya Space Agency. “The hands-on training and exposure to advanced research provided invaluable insights, empowering us to make meaningful contributions to the development of astronomy in our home countries.”
Students received an introduction to radio astronomy telescopes and instrumentation during the first week of the training at HartRAO. The second week of the training gave students the unique opportunity to operate and conduct real-time observations with the HartRAO 26m single dish telescope as well as learn about the science and public benefit of the Space Geodesy Programme.
Dr Roelf Botha, manager of SARAO’s Space Geodesy Programme at HartRAO comments that “Exposing the students to the whole process of taking data with the 26m telescope, calibrating the data and processing it to extract useful information to be used in science is an invaluable experience to fast-track student learnings.” He further adds that, “Diversifying their exposure to symbiotic sciences like Space Geodesy broadens their horizons and provides an entry point for adjacent career pathways.”
Speaking on behalf of the Malagasy students, Koloina Razafinjato Rambeloson, an MSc student in Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Antananarivo, Madagascar, commented that “Coming from different MSc backgrounds including astronomy, nuclear safety and energy, in Madagascar, where exposure to radio astronomy is limited, this training gave us hands-on experience in data collection and processing, highlighting the need for scientific and technical collaboration. We discovered the applications of radio telescopes beyond astronomy, especially in geodesy – a completely new topic for us. We are extremely thankful to the lecturers and staff who were ready to teach and help us wholeheartedly.”
Following the radio astronomy training at HartRAO, the 20 students will undertake a final course on data reduction and analysis techniques that is scheduled to take place in early 2025. The entire cohort of 60 students will be hosted in South Africa at the annual DARA networking event which takes place in February 2025. At the networking event, students will be exposed to various applications of their new skillsets through presentations given by partnering industries, organisations and academic institutions. The networking event additionally includes CV coaching and career development sessions with the students, giving them extra guidance in taking the next step in their careers.
“The DARA Basic Training gives science and engineering graduates an opportunity to learn specialised concepts in astronomy and radio astronomy in a more hands-on way,” says Dr Bonita de Swardt, SARAO Programme Manager: Strategic Partnerships for Human Capital Development. She further adds, “I’m amazed at how some of these students have taken these concepts to develop everyday innovations that can benefit African societies as whole. This builds on DARA’s impact specifically when looking at transferability of skills to complementing sectors such as space science, space technologies and Earth observation.”
“We are excited to host students from our African partner countries at the HartRAO site as part of the DARA training, and grateful to the DARA project for their support,” says SARAO’s Africa Programme Manager and South African Principal Investigator for the DARA project, Carla Mitchell. She further comments that, “The HartRAO facility is perfectly equipped to offer this hands-on training, which also fits into our overall vision to develop HartRAO into the first African training site offering skills development and training in radio astronomy technologies and space geodesy to the African community.”
For more information, contact:
Dr Bonita de Swardt
SARAO Programme Manager: Strategic Partnerships for Human Capital Development
Email: bonita@sarao.ac.za
