ABU DHABI // The Nasa internship programme for Emiratis is accepting a new round of applications for autumn, but the window closes on Thursday. Emirati undergraduate students and those who graduated in the past year in engineering, sciences or information communications technology with a grade-point average above 3.0 can apply. The programme will run for 10 weeks, from September to December, at Nasa's Ames Research Centre in California.
It will cover areas such as space flight, the International Space Station, solar system exploration, deep space exploration programmes, research aircraft and remote sensing. The first programme began in July when three Emirati students became the first non-Americans to take part in the US space agency's Educational Associates scheme. Applications must be filed through the Arab Youth Venture Foundation, a non-profit group based in Ras al Khaimah, which signed a deal with Nasa last year to accept 12 Emirati university students to train with their non-astronaut experts.
Information on application requirements and methods can be obtained by e-mailing NASA2010@ayvf.org or telephoning 04 344 8603. "Our short application timeline has been specifically constructed to draw out those who are most diligent and determined, as the positions will demand a high level of initiative," said Lisa LaBonté, the chief executive of the foundation. Mohammed Omar, a 24-year-old information technology graduate from the Higher Colleges of Technology, said he was interested in applying for the programme and intended to beat the deadline.
"This is a very good experience in a new field that we did not cover before," he said. "It will be at an internationally renowned agency, so it is nice to become familiar with the systems of such agencies." @Email:hdajani@thenational.ae