New Delhi

Four students of Jamia Milia Islamia School have been selected for visiting the USA for UNVIE Space themed Youth Exchange Programme. The Youth Exchange Programme is hosted by the U.S. Department of State through the University of Alabama, Huntsville.

The selcted students are: Hafsa Fahad and Mobarak Samar of Jamia Senior Secondary School and Humayu Rasheed and Arham Hayat of Jamia Syed Abid Husain Senior Secondary School (Batch of 2021). They will represent India in the event. Students from four more countries are also participating in the USSRC Advanced Space Academy.

The event I being held from April 28 to May 7. USSRC is a Smithsonian affiliate and the official visitor centre for NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Centre.

JMI Vice Chancellor Prof. Najma Akhtar congratulated students and said that an institution’s job is not just to give education and information to its students but also to recognise their interest and potential and channel them into the right direction.

The capabilities and potential of these students were recognised by their school teachers Ayesha Jameel and Azra Parveen (Syed Abid Husain Sr School), Ghazala Siddiqui (Jamia Sr Sec School) and Rachna Sharma, the Regional English Language Officer from the American Center. The journey of these four ambitious Science students started from their early years of high school where their interest of exploring different aspects of learning and going beyond their classrooms led them into the English ACCESS Micro-scholarship Programme (Batch 2017-19), organised by the U.S. Embassy in collaboration with JMI.

These students come from different fields of interests and have varied goals in life. Despite being a part of the online program due to the pandemic they got a chance to explore the wonders of Space and Science.

They have so far witnessed the Balloon launch, presentation from NASA’s interns, interaction with NASA’s Astronauts and Russian Cosmonauts and several incredible scientific sessions which were hosted by Evdoxia Tsimika Chronis (Senior Program Coordinator, UAH).

Mobrak, Arham, Hafsa and Humayu prepared their own presentations and posters on topics related to space science which were presented in the online Globium Symposium. Their dedication and perseverance with the online program paid off when they received their invitation letters to travel and experience the On-Campus program, from the U.S Space and Rocket Centre in Huntsville, USA.

Their visit to the U.S Space Camp is the first step towards their goals and unpredictable future opportunities. The friends, the mentors, the knowledge and the experiences they have been gaining from this program are notable achievements in itself.