Space technologies, data and services have become indispensable in the daily lives of European citizens: when using mobile phones and car navigation systems, watching satellite TV or withdrawing cash. The EU’s document on Space Strategy states that "The potential of space solutions has not yet been fully exploited, and nor have the wider possibilities offered by space data [...] The goal [...] is to optimize the benefits that space brings to society and the EU's wider economy.”
Nevertheless, in recent years there has been a negative trend towards the Natural Sciences, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, raising concerns about the level of STEAM (STEAM: Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathematics) education in Europe. Thus, the educational activities planned by BEYOND Center of Excellence aim to highlight the benefits that space offers to society and the wider EU economy to various social and scientific groups.
Our team has been invited several times to date by schools and educational institutions to present the uses of satellite technology in the daily lives of citizens, in the context of the physics course. The purpose of these visits is to inform members of the educational community that new technologies are an excellent tool in the hands of scientists that can produce services to the benefit of the state, as well as to introduce young people to the world of satellite remote sensing. The visits to the schools highlighted the need for large-scale implementation of educational programs on new technologies and Earth Observation.
