How GDST Girls are Programming Technology for Space

For International Day of Women in Engineering, Dr. Alexandra Read, Head of Learning Technology, takes us through the GDST’s pioneering Space Technology Diploma Programme

My role as Head of Learning Technology at the Girls’ Day School Trust (GDST) provides me with a perfect pathway to pursue my passion for developing and supporting exceptional opportunities for girls and young women in Computer Science and Technology. An exciting aspect of my job is managing the GDST Space Technology Diploma Programme, which was conceived in 2019 by the Programme Lead, Nicola Buttigieg, Head of Department for Computer Science at Sutton High School.

What is the Space Technology Diploma Programme?

The Space Technology Diploma Programme was introduced to augment the existing computer science offering and develop programming skills for sixth form students who may not be taking computer science A level. Now in its 4th year and offered to all GDST schools, the learning modules in the course apply science, maths and computer science concepts and skills in the context of programming for space technologies. An experiential component introduces students to careers in STEM culminating in a live Viva Voce assessment conference where students participate in a live ‘in-person’ collaborative activity with students from GDST schools around the country who they may never have met before, and then defend their findings to a panel of international judges from the space and AI industries.

SpaceTech Viva Voce: An unprecedented opportunity for students

This year’s extraordinary SpaceTech Viva Voce conference was held at Cranfield University. Our hosts, the university’s award-winning Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (CranSEDS) Team far surpassed all of our expectations and have taken this event to the next level by facilitating a highly technical hybrid event involving in person & remote presentations and attendees from around the globe in multiple different time zones. Our Diploma candidate students were provided with the unprecedented opportunity to beta-test a new My NASA Data student software tool interface, participating in a collaborative activity, mentored by Angela Rizi from My NASA Data attending live from the USA to support our students with retrieving satellite datasets for machine learning AI processing.

An outstanding collection of guest speakers, panellists and partners

This year’s esteemed guest speakers included Dr. Gilbert Tang (Senior Lecturer in Robotics, Cranfield University),  Dr. Bill Crofts, the Director of Warwick University Satellite Programme (WUSAT), Slesa Adhikari (Computer Scientist at NASA-IMPACT), Syed Shane Raza Abidi (CRANSEDS) and Guilherme Fernandes Alves (Creator of RocketPy).

Our CRANSEDS STEM partners also showcased their highly innovative collaborative project with GDST SpaceTech Students from Sutton High which integrates an airborne payload imager which incorporates cloud technology for machine learning onboard a UAV drone aircraft designed and constructed by the CRANSEDS Team. This project has been selected by the Royal Society to be presented by GDST students at the prestigious Young Researcher Zone Team event at the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition in July.

Role models for the next generation of women in STEM

The imagination and creative applications of new and emerging technology by the GDST students and our Space Technology Diploma programme STEM partners is truly visionary. They are pioneering uncharted territory using data and machine learning to help us understand more about Earth and Space to solve problems and find solutions that will transform the way that we live and perceive the world around us. These young women are not just the scientists and engineers of the future, they are scientists and engineers now who are already making significant contributions to the field of computer science and technology, mentoring their peers and becoming role models for the next generation of women in STEM.