Overview of Project

In previous years Starlight in the university lab: Practical activities for Scientific Skills (or in short Astrolab) was developed. Astrolab is an inquiry-based lab primarily for undergraduate students. It is implemented in Nigeria, Rwanda, and Zambia. (see Reports on the OAD/Projects Funded/TF1). Astrolab was presented at the Mearim IV Conference in 2017. The audience considered it a very useful project, but the main problem for implementing Astrolab in various African countries was the insufficient preparedness of tutors, often because their interest and research domain was in theoretical astrophysics. We propose to have a workshop at the Zululand university to give future tutors a thorough one-week training to enable them to direct and monitor students performing their Astrolab projects. We target some 15 to 20 tutors from countries in southern Africa, including tutors from universities in less developed South African regions. With this experience, the tutors will have the ability to set up and conduct this programme. Additionally, manuals are provided as well as e-mail support when necessary, either to the tutors or, in some cases, directly to the student.