SARAO News

SKA SA hosted South Africa’s 2016 top 20 matriculants in mathematics and physical science at the SKA site at Losberg on 25 June 2017. The visit formed part of a collaboration between SKA SA and the National Science and Technology Forum (NSTF) to host the students on a week-long national astronomy tour.

The students, now all first year students in science, technology and innovation-related fields, were selected by the NSTF to participate in the organisation’s Brilliants Programme. Each student was the 2016 top-performing female or male matriculant in their province, based on their marks in mathematics and physical science in the most recent National Senior Certificate (Grade 12) Examinations.

The NSTF Brilliants visited various other astronomy sites, including the South African Large Telescope (SALT) outside Sutherland, South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) in Observatory, and the Iziko Planetarium in Cape Town. The students also received training in basic stargazing in the Karoo, participated in an introduction to big data workshop by Google, and visited various scientific tourism sites en route and in Cape Town.

Dylan Maluleke, a matriculant from Thohoyandou Technical High and now a first-year BSc (Civil Engineering) student at the University of Cape Town, says that the visit to the SKA site changed the way that he perceived the value of his degree and career choice.

“I now have a clear understanding of how I can use engineering, not only for the better of my country, but also for the better of rural villages like my own. I don’t know when, I don’t know how, but I know that I will make a difference.”

The tour concluded with the prestigious NSTF-South32 Awards Gala Dinner held at Emperor’s Palace, Kempton Park in Gauteng on 29 June 2017. The awards celebrated the 2017 International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development, and profiled the importance of MeerKAT and SKA for sustainable scientific tourism in South Africa.

Watch a short highlights video of the astronomy tour here.