PRE-UNIVERSITY OUTREACH THROUGH A SATELLITE DESIGN COMPETITION

The Engineering Profession is seen as a holistic discipline affecting many areas of everyday life. Even though practicing professionals would not dispute the statement, it is often hard to convey the idea to preuniversity students, as it appears overwhelming and presumptuous. Examples comprising of many different subjects such as bridges, airplanes, and computers, are used to reduce the anxiety. But, these examples are part of everyday life and thus fail to inspire a new generation ofengineers. To overcome this problem, the University of Manitoba Space Applications and Technology Society is using a student-designed nano-satellite, T-Sat, as a means to promote the profession and motivate a new generation by making space accessible to undergraduate and graduate students. This paper describes the outreach presentations and hands-on workshops organized through a satellite design competition that have reached more than 3,000 pre-university students, university students, and industry professionals between January 2011 and May 2012.