The UK Space Design competition usually concludes in March when a team is chosen to represent the country at the International Competition in the US. This year, however, the competition’s project brief was used as part of the Imperial Global Summer School. This is a scheme set up to widen interest in industry simulations, with students from all over the world attending Imperial College to take part in a two week course in either July or August.

Experienced volunteers and past participants of the UKSDC came to help the students on their proposals, sharing their experience from having worked on similar projects themselves as part of the competition. Trisha Saxena from Nonsuch High School for Girls, one of 12 winning students from Imperial’s March SDC Finals, represented the UK at  the International Space Design Competition held at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, and who is now a first year student in Physics at Imperial College, said  “The summer school is the perfect way to introduce students to working in a real industry, and what makes it even more exciting is that the students are fully in charge of their work, electing leaders and heads of department from within their team. The experience they gained while on the course will be indispensable in the future.”

The Global Summer School will be running again next summer, with the UKSDC providing an exciting futuristic space settlement project for the students attending Imperial College.