Ava Garside, a student from Leeds, was awarded the overall
individual prize in the UK Space
Agency’s SatelLife Competition and will receive £6,000 for
her pin badge which monitors air pollution.
Students from the University of Bath won the overall group
prize of £7,000 for their answer to detecting illegal sand
mines. These are just two of the winning entries in the
Agency’s 4th annual SatelLife Competition.
The SatelLife Competition aims to encourage young people to
think about how satellites can enhance our everyday lives
and learn more about the diverse carers available in the
sector. Ideas during this year’s competition ranged from
apps that predict crop health to contact tracing in a
pandemic. Those closer to home could see their lives
improved with a wrist band to guide and support those with
dementia.
British ESA astronaut Tim Peake said:
Satellites are essential to everyday activities. When
data collected by satellites are applied creatively, we
can look to solve many of the problems we face on
Earth.
The UK space sector is an exciting place to work, and
jobs in space are not just for astronauts. Careers
include analysts, engineers, designers and entrepreneurs,
I do not doubt that in the future these exceptional young
people will be at the front of the line for these jobs.”
Science Minister Amanda Solloway said:
Satellites play a vital role in all our lives, not just
for day-to-day activities like making a phone call
or using GPS, but also for tackling some of the
world’s greatest challenges such as climate change.
The innovation demonstrated by the SatelLife winners has
been truly inspiring and I look forward to watching them
and other brilliant young talent develop flourishing
careers in our exciting and thriving space industry.”
The next step for these successful winners is to pitch
their ideas to a panel of ‘dragons’ at the Harwell Space
Cluster in October for the chance to win further prizes.
Previous awards have included additional funding, patent
advice and invitations to discuss job opportunities as well
as introductions to the other relevant experts for
further help.
The SatelLife competition has seen previous winners go on
to careers in the space sector and continue to develop
their idea into reality.
