SA needs to focus on human capital development if the privilege of playing host country to the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) telescope is to take on full meaning in the country as a whole.
This is according to professor Nithaya Chetty, group executive of astronomy at the National Research Foundation (NRF), who took part in an historic “Astronomy Town Hall” meeting at the University of Pretoria, last week.
An assembly of more than 70 astronomers, space scientists and government representatives, the meeting was the first substantial gathering of scientists, NRF and SA's Department of Science and Technology (DST) officials since the May announcement that SA would host two-thirds of the SKA project.
Chetty says the acceleration and expansion of skills in South African schools, universities and other educational institutions is crucial if the community is to take advantage of the SKA, which is to be built in the Northern Cape and aims to link thousands of radio telescopes, enabling unprecedented research to be carried out from SA.
He says involved parties should also work towards retaining skills and project undertakings within our borders. “The most important collateral the development of astronomy in SA has is quality human capacity and we are in ongoing discussions with the government in a bid to strengthen and keep scientific skill sets within Africa, specifically SA. We want SA to be a destination for cutting-edge science projects and for that we need to build capacity within Africa.”
It will be nothing short of a tragedy, says Chetty, if the community builds first-class infrastructure, but does not have a decent base of quality African scientists to use it.
He says the country is not lacking in a foundation as far as astronomy goes. “We have a 200-year history of world-class astronomy invested in SA.”
Chetty says a number of initiatives are under way in this regard - notably the National Astronomy and Space Science programme (NASSP). Chetty says the programme, based in the Western Cape, helps develop quality students in the fields of science and astronomy, placing them in astronomy programmes around SA.
He says the NRF and government are looking to expand the programme beyond the Cape.
“My refrain has always been one thing: We need to develop quality students and train them to use these telescopes for future generations.”
The benefits, he says, are far-reaching. “I see astronomy as being in a position to drive education on a broader scale. It does not take much to get a child 'hooked' on astronomy and, from there, there is a wide range of technical skills to be developed - skills that will allow them to go on to service other sectors of society.”
The SKA, valued at EUR1.5 billion, is expected to be completed in 2024.
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