We proudly announce the international winners of the Space Awareness Celebrating Excellent Space Science Teaching Competition!
Many outstanding entries from teachers and educators around the world showed the creative ways they have used Space Awareness resources to inspire young people with space sciences.
The participants of the international competition were the winners of the National Competitions — they automatically entered the international round after winning first place in their country.
The winners and runner-ups for the international competition are:
INTERNATIONAL FINAL WINNERS
Category A - Inspiring young people from diverse backgrounds with space sciences
Winner: Felicia Jane (India)
Runner-up: Marina Molla (Greece)
Category B - Supporting young people to become aware of space-related careers
Winner: Gabriella Ricci (Italy) and Anita Simac (Croatia)
Runner-up: Maria Elftheriou (Greece)
Honorary mention: V. Barath Kumar (India)
The finalists of the international final will receive the Space Awareness Climate Box educational kit and the Rosetta toy. On top of that, the winners of the international final will also receive a Quality Lighting Teaching Kit. All national winners will also receive recognition badges for schools and individuals, and the publication of the finalist submissions on the Space Awareness website.
The entries have been judged by an international panel of judges, including space science experts and education specialists from the European Space Agency (ESA), the International Astronomical Union (IAU) Office of Astronomy Outreach, the IAU Office of Astronomy for Development, the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO), the IAU astroEDU project and the Space Awareness Advisory Board. We are thankful for their efforts and expertise.
The jury panel was very impressed with the submissions and considered the winners with care. The judges found the quality of the submissions very high and competitive, but in the end they could reach consensus. The judges wanted to give special mention to the category B entry from India, which was very competitive as well.
We would like to congratulate all of the participants who entered the competition. All participants will receive a certificate of participation. We also want to thank the National Organisers for their hard work in organising the national competitions.
INTERNATIONAL JURY PANEL
Category A - Inspiring young people from diverse backgrounds with space sciences
- Audrey Korczynska (Space Awareness Advisory Board)
- Stephen Pompea (National Optical Astronomy Observatory)
- Ramasamy Venugopal (IAU Office of Astronomy for Development)
Category B - Supporting young people to become aware of space-related careers
- Lina Canas (IAU Office of Astronomy Outreach)
- Catia Cardoso (European Space Agency Education Office)
- Thilina Heenatigala (IAU astroEDU)
Image credit: Maglara/Shutterstock.com
