Talented high school students came to visit Thales Alenia Space in the framework of the International Earth Science Olympiads

31 Aug 2017

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On August 28th , 2017, Thales Alenia Space was pleased to welcome almost 120 high school students from 35 countries for eleventh edition of the International Earth Science Olympiads 2017

The International Earth Science Olympiads: how does it work?

Every year since 2007, high school students from around the world, about 17 years old, are chosen to take part in this large-scale competition. France has taken part since 2011, under the auspices of the ministerial initiative Sciences à l'École (“Science at School”). The program includes a written test and several practical exercises in different disciplines: geology, meteorology, environmental science and astronomy.

Following the previous Olympiads in Japan, the 2017 version came to France, from August 22 to 29 at Sophia Antipolis, the technology park near Nice, sponsored by the Université Côte d'Azur (“Riviera University”). The students and their mentors enjoyed a full-day visit to Thales Alenia Space’s plant in Cannes to present their projects to several juries, while also getting a look at the impressive clean rooms and discovering the major role played by satellites and their importance for humanity during various lectures.

Objectives of the International Earth Science Olympiads:

•   Promote a holistic approach to the “Earth system” and its subsystems. To better understand how our planet functions, and help solve the major problems facing humanity, we have to bring different disciplines closer together and better understand how these systems interact and depend on each other, including the geosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere and, more generally, the solar system.
•   Leverage our knowledge of geology, pedology, astronomy, meteorology, hydrology and oceanography.
•   Foster intellectual curiosity, ingenuity and initiative.

“A Sky full of Stars” for highly-motivated young talents!

Aiming to promote scientific, technical and engineering disciplines, this kind of international contest represents a very good opportunity to emphasize new talents, spearheads of both the French and the international industry of tomorrow. Thales Alenia Space was indeed delighted to host such an event for one day!

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