The Space Medicine and Life Sciences (SMLS) and Space Safety and Sustainability (SSS) project groups of the Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC), alongside the University College London (UCL) Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction (IRDR) Space Health Risks Research Group, are launching a short answer competition to recruit members to work alongside their research team. If selected, the winners will be invited to attend (either virtually or in person) the Symposium on Space Health and Disaster Risk Reduction as rapporteurs, where they will work together to publish essays for all people interested in STEAM. The aim of the essays produced by the winning team will be to create awareness and educate people about space health, disaster risk reduction and the benefits for life in remote environments on Earth.

This Symposium on Space Health and Disaster Risk Reduction is an exploration of the interrelations between space health, disaster risk reduction and other related topics. The aim is to establish a consensus on the provision of healthcare by an interdisciplinary healthcare practitioner during a deep space mission to another planetary body, and how this practice can inform remote health systems on Earth.

Theme: Reducing the Risk of Disaster – How space medicine interrelates with sustainable use of resources in terrestrial environments

Application Deadline: July 23, 2021 at 23:59 GMT July 30, 2021 at 23:59 GMT

 

The competition is split into five stages:

• Stage 1 – Individuals answer a short answer question in their application (deadline: July 23, 2021 at 23:59 GMT July 30, 2021 at 23:59 GMT). The successful applicants are then announced and grouped into one or two teams of 5 by the competition organizers (deadline: August 1, 2021 at 23:59 GMT  August 8, 2021 at 23:59 GMT).
• Stage 2 – Teams will be introduced by the competition organizers and will meet virtually throughout the month of August to brainstorm ideas for the Symposium on Space Health and Disaster Risk Reduction.
• Stage 3 – Teams will then attend (either virtually or in person) the Symposium on Space Health and Disaster Risk Reduction as rapporteurs, where they will join breakout rooms to discuss the various symposium themes (date: September 1, 2021 from 8:30 to 17:00 BST either online or in London, United Kingdom).
• Stage 4 – Following the symposium, the team(s) will then produce one or two essays to create awareness and educate people about space health, disaster risk reduction and the benefits for life in remote environments on Earth (deadline: November 1, 2021 at 23:59 GMT). These essays will be published on UCL Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction (IRDR) blog as an (IRDR) Space Health Risks Research Group guest blog article, and the organizers will liaise with the team members to try and bring the essays forward for journal submission if appropriate (estimated timeframe: early 2022).
• Stage 5 – Individuals will have the opportunity to participate in the first pilot analogue space mission in the United Kingdom (estimated timeframe: Spring 2022). An invitation will be extended to any of the symposium participants who wish to attend.

Ten (10) individuals will be selected in Stage 1 of this competition to:

• Attend and participate in the Symposium on Space Health and Disaster Risk Reduction (either online or in person in London, United Kingdom) on September 1, 2021. Free entrance to the event and meals on September 1 will be included (if attending in person); 

• Produce essays with their symposium team addressing the theme: “How are the sustainable use of resources interrelated with space medicine to reduce the risk of disaster?” The rapporteur teams will have their essays published on UCL Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction (IRDR) blog as an (IRDR) Space Health Risks Research Group guest blog article. 

• Present their essays at an SGAC SMLS Health in Space webinar (date to be confirmed).

Should the individual opt to attend the symposium in person, they will be solely responsible for covering their travel, accommodation, and visa costs and any other expenses, and for ensuring that they meet the entry/exit requirements for travelling to London given the ongoing pandemic.

 

 

Eligibility criteria 

• The competition is open to all students and young professionals from any country;
• All individuals shall be SGAC members between the ages of 18 to 35 inclusive (up to the day of their 36th birthday) on September 2, 2021;.
• The competition is open to individuals;
• Competition organizers and judges are not eligible to apply under this competition. 

Submission

• The application shall be submitted via the Scholarship Submission Form at the bottom of this place in the “Apply” section. You will need to be logged in as an SGAC member to submit your application.
• The language of all submissions shall be in English.
• For Stage 1, the individual will be required to submit their curriculum vitae (CV) as well as a short-answer response (400 words or less, not including sources) to one of the following questions:
  • What is an example of utilising locally sourced resources to supplement provision of care in remote environments?
  • What invention over the last 50 years has been most conducive to providing remote medical care?
  • Medical Screening prior to long duration expeditions: how far is too far?
  • Medical Optimisation prior to long duration missions: how invasive is too invasive?
• The submission shall include original content and research.
• The text may draw examples from organizations, companies or other entities, but it cannot promote or advertise them. 
• If applicable, please use the Harvard referencing style when citing sources. Failure to properly acknowledge sources may constitute plagiarism. 
• Your CV must be attached to your submission as an unlocked PDF document under 5 MB.
• All submissions for Stage 1 must be made by July 23, 2021 at 23:59 GMT July 30, 2021 at 23:59 GMT. Any submissions received after the deadline will not be considered.
• In case of lack of quality of submissions, the Selection Committee reserves the right to extend and/or cancel the competition. 

Note that further information regarding the later stages of this award (including submission process and assessment criteria for essays produced after the symposium) will be communicated at a later date only to the individuals who are selected for Stage 1. This information will be provided to the individuals by the SMLS and SSS working groups as well as UCL IRDR.

Responsibilities of the Winners

The individuals selected under Stage 1 of this competition shall:

• Participate in virtual brainstorming meetings with their assigned team throughout the course of August (time commitment of approximately 5 hours);
• Attend the Symposium on Space Health and Disaster Risk Reduction on September 1, 2021 (either virtually or in person, in London, United Kingdom). Attendance is free;
• Following the symposium, produce an essay with their assigned team that responds to the theme of: “How can the sustainable use of resources be interrelated with space medicine in order to reduce the risk of disaster?”. This essay shall be submitted no later than November 1, 2021 at 23:59 GMT;
• Submit a short report (2 pages including pictures) and a short video (1 minute) describing his or her experience at the symposium for inclusion on the SGAC website, newsletter or social media and that of our partners;
• Present their team essay at SGAC SMLS Health in Space webinar.

All responsibilities shall be fulfilled and reports etc. submitted not later than December 1, 2021 at 23:59 GMT.

Copyright and Intellectual Property 

• By submitting an entry, applicants agree to permit SGAC and all affiliated organisers to mention their names, affiliations and headshot picture in connection with the competition. 
• Copyright of the submitted entry shall remain with the participants. However, by submitting an entry all contestants agree that SGAC and all affiliated organisers are granted non-exclusive reproduction rights regarding all submitted papers. SGAC and all affiliated organisers may also present ideas and findings generated by this competition at relevant conferences.

Liability 

• Organizers have the right to change the terms of the competition, including the number of winners and scope of the prizes.
• Organisers shall not be responsible in the event that the symposium is cancelled. SGAC will not reimburse the winning author, even if he/she/they have already incurred expenses.
• Organisers shall not be responsible in the event that the award winner fails to attend the symposium or is unable to under extenuating circumstances; in that case the award offer shall become void.
• Organisers shall not be responsible in the event that the award winner cannot obtain any necessary travel documents; if they are required but not obtained, the award offer shall become void.

Evaluators will include members of the SGAC scholarship team, representatives of the SMLS and SSS working groups, and members from UCL IRDR.

The evaluation will be made based on a point system taking the following criteria and their weights into consideration:

• Relevance of academic, professional and extracurricular background with regards to the symposium theme (10%);
• Previous experience working in a team environment and transferable skills relevant to the rapporteur role (20%)
• Scientific content and detail of short-answer responses (30%);
• Originality of responses to short-answer questions (30%);
• Writing quality (10%).

Call for submissions opens (Stage 1):	June 29, 2021
Call for submissions closes:	July 23, 2021 at 23:59 GMT July 30, 2021 at 23:59 GMT
Team members are announced:	August 1, 2021 August 8, 2021
Teams meet virtually to prepare for the symposium:	August 2021
Symposium on Space health and disaster risk reduction	September 1, 2021
Submission deadline for team essay	November 1, 2021 at 23:59 (GMT)

For any questions, please communicate with the SGAC Scholarships Coordinators.

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Scholarship Submission Form

This scholarship is currently closed for applications.