BENGALURU: Higher Education Minister Ashwath Narayan announced on Monday that the student satellite design and launch project will be named after late Kannada actor Puneeth Rajkumar. The ‘Puneeth Rajkumar Student Satellite Project’ inaugurated by Narayan at the Government Pre-University College, Malleswaram, will see the collaboration of around a hundred students from 20 schools in Karnataka to design and launch the Karnataka Government School Students’ Satellite Project (KGS3Sat).
To celebrate 75 years of India’s Independence, 75 satellites are set to be launched across the country. The KGS3Sat will be one of the 75 satellites, with students designing and building the satellite with help from the Karnataka Science and Technological Promotion Society (KSTEPS), the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), and the Indian Technology Congress Association (ITCA).
“To help the students, introductory online and offline programmes as well as hands-on learning and tutorial models in Kannada and English will be made available. In addition, web links of required content will be provided to the students and related classes will start from April 22,” he said.
Stressing on the use of mother tongue in science, he said that scientific curiosity must be sowed in students from a young age. “The path to social empowerment lies in scientific research and innovations. That curiosity should be kindled in students from an early stage and needs to be sustained,” the minister.