3rd Marie Curie SKADS Training School

In this Darwinian year, the Observatoire de Paris organised the Third MCCT-SKADS Training School, entitled “Towards the SKA: increasing the evolution rate in radio astronomy”. The school was held in Paris, France, from 24 to 28 August 2009. The school was fully sponsored by the Marie Curie MCCT-SKADS programme, within the Sixth Framework Programme of the European Commission.

About the School

This was the third, and final, School organised within the framework of the training activities of the Square Kilometre Array Design Studies (SKADS) initiative. The main goal of the Schools was to attract and train potential users of the new generation of radio interferometers, with special focus on the Square Kilometre Array (SKA). This school aimed not only at radio astronomers, but also at young astronomers and engineers from all fields of astronomy.

A requirement for participation is to have finished undergraduate (university) studies.

Topics

The school covered the following areas:

• science and technology highlights of the SKA
• scientific projects for the SKA Precursor instruments (ASKAP and MeerKAT)
• science with SKA pathfinder instruments, such as LOFAR
• scientific synergy with, e.g., the higher-frequency radio telescope ALMA and with future large optical telescopes like the E-ELT
• new approaches in radio astronomy imaging and calibration (like MeqTrees)

download the presentations

The programme consisted of a series lectures, spread over a period of 5 days, in morning and afternoon sessions. There were 20 student participants plus 12 teachers.

Venue, accommodation and costs

The venue of the School was at the original site of the Observatoire de Paris, located near the centre of the City of Lights. Accomodation for participants was provided in nearby hotels. Participants stayed for the full length of the school arriving on Monday 24 August 2009 and departing on Friday 28 August 2009. Full board lodging cost from 23 to 30 August was covered by the MCCT-SKADS programme for selected participants with less than 10 years of experience in research. These participants also received a contribution in their travel expenses, which was enough to fully cover low-cost airline tickets.

Eligibility

In order to qualify for attending the School, candidate participants must have finished their undergraduate studies before the start of the School ­ this means that they must have at least a BA or BSc degree. A potential attendee cannot register before having finished her/his undergraduate studies, even if she/he has already started some post-graduate studies such as master courses. This is a strict rule ­ see the eligibility page for more details on eligibility rules.