Education Strategy launched

SaxaVord Spaceport has published its Education Strategy in partnership with Shetland Islands Council’s Shetland Space Education Employment and Skills Pipeline working group.  

The strategy aims to encourage learning in STEAM subjects to a tertiary level, with the view of creating a skilled and enthusiastic workforce across the UK. It will also inform audiences of the exciting opportunities in the nation’s growing space sector.  

SaxaVord Spaceport’s mission is to build on Shetland’s heritage of exploring, innovating and collaborating to make the UK the premier European base for New Space. The spaceport hopes to maximise the educational and societal benefits for the UK, while caring for the environment and promoting a skilled and diverse workforce.  

The strategy confirms partnerships with international academic bodies, such as Strathclyde University and the University of Alaska, to promote STEAM subjects. The spaceport will work with governments, and agencies, including Shetland Islands Council, the Department for Education, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the UK Space Agency as well as industry partners like HyImpulse to achieve its goals.  

SaxaVord Spaceport will forge collaboration opportunities through these partnerships to inspire individuals and develop the UK’s space workforce. Current initiatives planned at SaxaVord include Mike Mongo’s Astronaut Job Clubs for children as well as internships for young people at the spaceport. 

Mason Robbins, Education and Innovation Officer at SaxaVord, said: “Our Education Strategy will ensure that everyone from one to 101 is inspired by space and increase engagement with STEAM subjects. Space has the power to motivate and invigorate and the whole of the UK should be able to benefit from the industry.”  

Frank Strang, CEO of SaxaVord Spaceport, added: “This strategy marks another exciting milestone for SaxaVord. I am particularly looking forward to increasing the number of internships for students from the UK and overseas here. As we forge ahead with developing Shetland as the place for space, we’re aware that we too must work with a range of like-minded organisations across the nation for the UK to be the European hub for space.” 

For more detail, the report includes a visualisation of how SaxaVord Spaceport intends to achieve this strategy at every age level from space leaders visiting nurseries, to CV and interview assistance for job opportunities in space.  A full copy of the strategy can be viewed here.