Education System and Space Activities for Malawi

Abstract

Space activities are all efforts that involve space with the aim of benefiting the nation, these activities can be military or civil. This is a broad term which encompasses space techniques, space technology application, satellite development, telecommunication system operations, just to mention a few. All these activities contribute to the nation’s economic, social and cultural development. There is a number of factors that influence the advancement of space activities in a nation. Emergency that needs the use or application of space technology like a natural disaster. Financial capability of a nation to fund a space activity venture, like satellite development or space mission, leadership zeal and interest in space activities and scientific knowledge and understanding of the population are some of the factors. In all these factors education is at the core of them all. There are not much space activities taking place in Malawi. Like other developing nations, Malawi is realizing the need to develop its own space sector. In the early 2000 Malawi became a registered user of international charter for Space and major disasters, which allows the nation to access satellite information from the charter members in times of a major disaster event. In March 2018 discussions began between the Kyushu Institute of Technology (KYUTECH), Japan and Malawi’s National Commission for Science and Technology—a government arm tasked with developing and supporting scientific innovations that address the nation’s needs—to build Malawi’s first satellite. While Malawi will not join KYUTECH’s upcoming BIRDS project, this very discussion was a significant step in getting the government involved and aware of the benefits of space. BIRDS is a KYUTECH-based multinational project in which students from various non space faring nations build and operate a nanosatellite in a period of two years. It thus trains these students, who can then return to their own nations to help in building the space industry there. It has been a very successful project with various developing countries like, Ghana, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Mongolia among the countries that have participated in and benefited from the BIRDS. This article is focusing on the correlation of basic education system, tertiary education and literacy on Space activities in Malawi. This information in this chapter will help unearth the hidden strengths and weaknesses of the education system in Malawi which is making it to derail in the space activities. It will help shed some light for the authorities to see the need to boost the education standards if they are serious in getting involved in space activities that play a very important role in the nation’s economic and cultural development.