Education Platform and Capacity Building
Overview
The Mobile App Platform provides interactive space science content accessible via smartphones, featuring augmented reality experiences, virtual laboratory experiments, and gamified learning modules. Students explore the Solar System, conduct virtual experiments, and engage with real mission data from Africa2Moon and other space missions. The platform works effectively even with limited internet connectivity, recognizing infrastructure challenges across African regions.
The Space Course offers comprehensive curriculum developed in partnership with leading educational organizations, African schools and universities, aligned with continental education standards. The course covers fundamental space science, engineering principles, data analysis, and practical applications of space technology to societal challenges. It includes hands-on projects where students analyze real satellite data, design mission concepts, and develop solutions to local problems using space technology.
The programme establishes partnerships with schools, universities, and science centres across Africa, providing teacher training, educational materials, and access to FSDA experts. Special emphasis reaches girls and underrepresented communities, addressing historical inequities in STEM education and careers. Through scholarships, mentorship programmes, and research opportunities, FSDA creates pathways for talented African students to pursue careers in space science and technology.
Why this matters
Of the world's 20 countries with the weakest digital skills, 12 are in Africa. Only 12% of Africa's tertiary education graduates have formal digital training. By 2030, sub-Saharan Africa will produce 230 million jobs requiring digital skills. FSDA's Education Platform addresses this gap at scale, reaching students who might never encounter space science education otherwise.
Space science education builds more than astronomy knowledge. It develops critical thinking, problem-solving, data analysis, and systems thinking applicable across STEM fields and beyond. Students who engage with real mission data, design experiments, and solve complex problems develop capabilities that transfer directly to careers in technology, engineering, healthcare, agriculture, and climate science.
The platform creates visible role models and pathways. When African students see African scientists leading lunar missions, analyzing space weather data, and building continental infrastructure, space careers become tangible possibilities rather than distant dreams. This representation matters: research shows that students from underrepresented groups pursue STEM careers at significantly higher rates when they see people like themselves succeeding in those fields.
Beyond individual opportunity, the programme builds continental capacity in fields critical for Africa's future: satellite data analysis for agriculture and climate, space weather monitoring for infrastructure protection, remote sensing for resource management, and data science for evidence-based decision-making. These skills strengthen African resilience and reduce dependency on external expertise.
