Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday flagged off the exposure visit for winners of the 12th Edition of Tata Steel’s Young Astronomer Talent Search (YATS) Programme in a function organized here.
The winning group of 20 students will now go on an exposure visit to one of the premier facilities of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), Space Applications Centre, Ahmedabad, to get a first-hand experience of space science in action.
The Chief Minister also launched the 13th edition of YATS (2019-20) on this occasion.
With overwhelming participation of students in 2018, the next edition has been launched with an aim to make YATS much more enriching for participating students.
The theme for YATS 2019 is “Unravelling the wonders of the universe” and will include the following competitions: An open-quiz (for students of classes 6th to 10th) and An essay competition (for students of classes 9th and 10th).
The top two essay entries will be selected from each district and winners will be invited to the grand finale to be held in Bhubaneswar on December 12-13, 2019, the birth anniversary of Pathani Samanta.
The top 20 winners will also be felicitated on the occasion, and later taken on an exposure visit.
In last 12 years 1,38,000 students have participated in YATS and 160 winning students have had the opportunity to visit various facilities of ISRO in India.
With increased involvement of students and teachers from rural and remote areas of the State, YATS 2018-19 achieved a new record in its 12-years journey with 63,000 students participating from 300 schools spanning all 30 districts in Odisha.