Apply To Attend The West African International Summer School For Young Astronomers (WAISSYA)

The West African International Summer School for Young Astronomers (WAISSYA) is a programme held every two years at designated locations in West Africa. At each summer school, there are approximately 60 participants (mainly undergraduates as well as a few graduate students) from across all countries in West Africa. The WAISSYA program is organised and taught by a team of international astronomers, focusing on the following goals:

1. Empowering West African students to pursue STEM related subjects/courses and think scientifically about the world
2. Exchanging of ideas on education between West Africa and North America.
3. Building a foundation for sustained astronomy partnership between West Africa, Canada, and the international community.
4. Building a significant mass of astronomers in West Africa

To achieve these goals, the WAISSYA programme is informed by research in science education: it focuses on developing instructors’ teaching practices, and on “inquiry based learning”, a paradigm in which students ask and investigate their own mini-research questions in small teams. It uses research-based surveys and student reflections to measure student learning, and revise its curriculum for future summer schools based on the results. WAISSYA alumni are now attending graduate programmes across the globe in countries such as Canada, Portugal and Cameroon, and also serving as teachers, scientists and engineers in the West African sub-region.

The 2019 WAISSYA Summer School will hold from 21 October 2019 to 1 November 2019 at the National Space Research and Development Agency, Abuja, Nigeria. WAISSYA provides scholarships for participants.

Click here to learn more about previous WAISSYA programs (2013, 2015, 2017)