This year, framed in the Science Week, the II Edition of the International Master Classes in Astrophysics was held in collaboration with the Instituto de Física de Cantabria (IFCA) and the Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (IRAP) of Toulouse (France). The event was held on 30 November 2023 from 9:30 to 14:30.
This activity is targeted at high school students. Students learnt how astronomical data are obtained with the XMM-Newton satellite, as well as the process of classifying X-ray sources in order to build a catalogue of them.
They were able to classify some of these sources themselves using the CLAXSON web tool.
Once the project is completed, students from both institutions participated in a competition through the Quizziz platform, in which they tested their knowledge of X-ray astronomy. Finally, a videoconference was held to share all the ideas and results.
On 13 and 14 October, as part of the Fête de la Science, the IRAP organised its Open Days, which took place in two stages:
- Friday 13 October was being organised in collaboration with the Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées and was dedicated to welcoming schoolchildren. After an introduction by the Observatory’s management, secondary school students from Castres (81) worked in small groups to discover themes such as earthquakes, the formation of water and molecules in space, exoplanets, virtual reality on Mars and the reconstruction of a real lunar space suit!
- On Saturdays, IRAP opened its doors to the general public (minimum age recommended: 6 years). The aim is to help young people discover IRAP’s themes and projects, and to inspire them to take up a career in the field. The programme for the day included workshops and conferences.
The European Researchers’ Night is a Europe-wide public event, which displays the diversity of science and its impact on citizens’ daily lives in fun, inspiring ways.
This year, the event will take place in 26 countries on Friday 29 September 2023.
The European Researchers’ Night aims to
- bring research and researchers closer to the public
- promote excellent research projects across Europe and beyond
- increase the interest of young people in science and research careers
- showcase the impact of researchers’ work on people’s daily lives
The European Researchers’ Night attracts each year more than 1.5 million visitors in Europe and beyond.
The 8th IUPAP International Conference on Women in Physics (ICWIP2023)
The International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP) has recognised a particular need to foster the participation of women in physics. The IUPAP Conferences series on Women in Physics, organised by IUPAP Working Group 5, has a history not only of success and growth but also of making a difference to the physics community.
The 8th conference in this series will be held virtually during 10-14 July 2023 with India as the host country and it will be jointly organised by the Gender in Physics Working Group (GIPWG) of Indian Physics Association (IPA) and the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR).
The program will consist of plenary sessions, interactive workshops, poster presentations, and networking sessions. In addition to the country papers depicting the status of women in physics.
International Women’s Day 8 March
International Women’s Day is celebrated in many countries around the world. It is a day when women are recognized for their achievements without regard to divisions, whether national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic or political.
Since those early years, International Women’s Day has assumed a new global dimension for women in developed and developing countries alike. The growing international women’s movement, which has been strengthened by four global United Nations women’s conferences, has helped make the commemoration a rallying point to build support for women’s rights and participation in the political and economic arenas.
International Day of Women and Girls in Science: February 11th
Science and gender equality are both vital for the achievement of the internationally agreed development goals, including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Over the past decades, the global community has made a lot of effort in inspiring and engaging women and girls in science. Yet women and girls continue to be excluded from participating fully in science.
In order to achieve full and equal access to and participation in science for women and girls, and further achieve gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls, the United Nations General Assembly declared 11 February as the International Day of Women and Girls in Science in 2015.
Internship offers
As part of IRAP training and knowledge dissemination missions, each year IRAP welcomes around sixty secondary school students (internship of observation of a professional environment organised in 3rd grade) in order to offer them a first contact with the world of research.
IRAP also welcomes every year about a hundred students on internships as part of their training in Bachelor’s, Master’s, engineering school or IUT.