On the eve of International Women’s Day, Al-Farabi KazNU, together with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has launched an educational project for girls on the development of UniSat nanosatellites.
The official launch ceremony of the project was attended by Vice-Rector for Scientific and Innovative Activities Tlekkabul Ramazanov, Deputy Representative of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Kazakhstan Veronika Vashchenko, Director of the TechnoPark of Al-Farabi KazNU Amirkhan Temirbayev, teachers and students of the University.
Twenty girls were selected to participate in the project. These are students of Kazakhstani Universities and high school students. They will have a unique opportunity to study courses on creating a nanosatellite based on the Scientific and Technological Park of Al-Farabi KazNU. The training will last five months and include such important stages of creating any spacecraft as projecting, design, programming, assembly, testing and launch. By the end of the training, girls should create models of nanosatellites and launch them into the upper atmosphere.
The project is interesting for its gender focus. Destroying the usual stereotype, it proves that the sphere of nanotechnology, programming and design of spacecraft is subject to the fair half of humanity. «Innovation, the development of young people and the promotion of gender equality are very important for UNICEF» emphasized the UNICEF Deputy Representative in Kazakhstan Veronika Vashchenko at the launch ceremony of the project. «We see opportunities to apply innovations to solve key global problems, therefore the participation of girls in the nanosatellites program is a step towards a new era for girls and women, and we believe that the results of the UniSAT program will achieve cosmic changes in society».
«On the basis of Al-Farabi KazNU, since 2012, under the leadership of Rector Galym Mutanov, the project has been implemented to create a scientific and technological school and develop small spacecraft», - said Amirkhan Temirbaev, Director of the Technopark of KazNU. 2 nanosatellites of the Al-Farabi series have already been launched, our educational designers of the AlfaSat nanosatellite are being introduced into many schools and Universities of the country. Today we launched the UniSat nanosatellite development project, a joint project with UNICEF, in which only girls participate. We believe that the joint project initiated by UNICEF will be another step in the development of STEM education among girls in our country. It is gratifying that the opening of the courses coincided with the Wome's Holiday of March 8th».
