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SKAO takes the stage at World Expo in Dubai
from Contact 09
It’s often said that the SKAO was born global, so it’s only natural that the Observatory was represented at October’s Space Week of the World Expo in Dubai.
The World Expo is a major global gathering of nations occurring every three or four years that provides an advertising platform for countries to highlight their achievements and brings together experts and policy-makers from around the world to discuss global common issues and challenges.
To coincide with the Expo’s “Space Week”, during which national pavilions put a particular emphasis on space (and by proxy, astronomy), the SKAO jointly organised an event with Australia’s Government Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources (DISER), to showcase on a truly global level the history, scientific goals, and recent rapid progress of the SKA project.
Among the speakers, some of whom were present virtually, Head of the SKAO Director-General’s Office Dr Simon Berry spoke about the role and importance of international collaboration across the SKA project, while Prof. Cathryn Trott of ICRAR and Dr Karen Lee-Waddell, Director of the Australian SKA Regional Centre, highlighted the Observatory’s science objectives and data challenges, respectively.
Australia’s SKAO Council representative, Janean Richards of DISER, also gave an overview of the country’s contributions to the SKA project, which of course includes being one of the two telescope host countries alongside South Africa.
Further demonstrating the global nature of the project, the event included updates from SKAO members and observer countries including China, India, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, South Africa, and the United Kingdom.
Despite the challenges of COVID-19, the Expo still welcomed a large number of high-level stakeholders in Dubai, and Space Week saw science ministers, chief scientific advisors, and other senior science policy makers joining events across country pavilions, a great opportunity for the SKAO to demonstrate and increase its global connections.
