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WELCOME TO THE

A.S.T.R.A.L. INSTITUTE

DEVELOPING A COHORT OF INSPIRATIONAL STUDENT STEM LEADERS_

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WHY?

STUDENTS OFTEN THINK SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ARE RESTRICTED TO OLD (OFTEN MALE) GENIUSES AND NOT PEOPLE LIKE THEM.

A.S.T.R.A.L. IS BUILDING A COHORT OF STEM STUDENT LEADERS OF THE FUTURE THAT CAN BOTH ACT AS ROLE MODELS AND PARTICIPATE IN CUTTING-EDGE ASTROPHYSICS RESEARCH. A.S.T.R.A.L. STUDENTS ARE TAUGHT THE RIGOUR OF THE SCIENTIFIC PROCESS, AND SKILLS IN ASTROPHYSICS, SUPERCOMPUTING, TECHNOLOGY, RESEARCH ANALYTICS AND LEADERSHIP.

THEY ARE ENCOURAGED TO USE A.S.T.R.A.L.'S UNIQUE PRESENTATION TOOLS TO TEACH THEIR PEERS ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCES ON BOTH SOCIAL MEDIA AND face-to-face ACTIVITIES. Yes, this website was developed by one of our students!

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IMAGE: EARTH AS SEEN FROM THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION

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A.S.T.R.A.L. stands for

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ASTROPHYSICS

SUPERCOMPUTING

TECHNOLOGY

RESEARCH

ANALYTICS

LEADERSHIP_

(aka A.S.T.R.A.L.)

THE A.S.T.R.A.L. PROGRAM AIMS TO INSPIRE STUDENTS TO PURSUE AREAS SUCH AS ASTROPHYSICS, RESEARCH, DATA SCIENCE AND LEADERSHIP THROUGH WORKSHOPS AND RESEARCH PROJECTS IN ASTRONOMY

what we offer

WORK EXPERIENCE

Week long work experience program at the Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing at the Swinburne University of Technology. Click below for the application form

WORK EXPERIENCE APPLICATION FORM

WORK EXPERIENCE APPLICATION FORM

The MilliPHeDe (milli-PHD) Summer Program

THIS 3-WEEK SUMMER INTERNSHIP ALLOWS STUDENTS THE PAID OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE IN ACTIVE RESEARCH IN THE ARC CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE FOR GRAVITATIONAL WAVE DISCOVERY (OZGRAV), FOCUSING ON ACCOMPLISHING A FOCUSED RESEARCH TASK DURING THOSE THREE WEEKS.

STUDENTS ACQUIRE SKILLS IN A MULTITUDE OF AREAS, SUCH AS PROGRAMMING, SUPERCOMPUTERS, DOCUMENTATION, DATA ANALYSIS, AUTOMATION AND MUCH MORE. STUDENTS ALSO GET TO LEARN ABOUT ASTRONOMY TOPICS RELATED TO THE RESEARCH TASK. SOME EXAMPLES ARE PULSAR ASTRONOMY, GRAVITATIONAL WAVES, BLACK HOLES, FAST RADIO BURSTS, ETC. ADDITIONALLY, THEY LEARN HOW TO WORK IN TEAM ENVIRONMENTS, MANAGE STRESS, AND THE ENVIRONMENT OF WORKPLACES THROUGH THIS THREE-WEEK INTERNSHIP, SKILLS THAT CAN BE APPLIED IN ANY CAREER OF CHOICE.

THIS PROGRAM RUNS DURING DECEMBER AND JANUARY (DURING SUMMER IN THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE) AND ARE RUN AT SWINBURNE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY'S HAWTHORN CAMPUS IN MELBOURNE.

WEEKLY ENGAGEMENT DURING THE SCHOOL TERM

In these weekly sessions, we continue to work on mini-projects throughout the term in a similar format to our MilliPHeDe (milli-PHD) program, with the aim of keeping students engaged and working on something new.

These sessions are typically run online for a maximum of 2 hours a week, and are hosted, organised and run by A.S.T.R.A.L. mentors, where students join virtually to update each other on their components of the project and to continue to work on research.

PUBLIC LECTURES AND SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT DEVELOPMENT

Throughout the year, students are taught how to use the exclusive content creation tool created by OzGrav (The ARC Centre of EXCELLENCE for Gravitational Wave Discovery), called OzVU, and get the opportunity to create outreach content to inspire other students about the potential for them to learn new skills through astronomy.

PROJECTS

A LIST OF MANY PROJECTS A.S.T.R.A.L. INSTITUTE STUDENTS HAVE DONE IN THE PAST WITH WORLD-RENOWNED RESEARCHERS_

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DISCOVERING NANOHERTZ FREQUENCY GRAVITATIONAL WAVES USING PULSAR TIMING ARRAYS

YEAR: 2024

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A.S.T.R.A.L. - Branding, Logo Design and Website Development

YEAR: 2024

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Signal to Noise Calculator Tool (SNRCalc)

YEAR: 2024

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PROJECTS

A LIST OF MANY PROJECTS A.S.T.R.A.L. INSTITUTE STUDENTS HAVE DONE IN THE PAST WITH WORLD-RENOWNED RESEARCHERS_

DISCOVERING NANOHERTZ FREQUENCY GRAVITATIONAL WAVES USING PULSAR TIMING ARRAYS

YEAR: 2024

LEARN MORE

A.S.T.R.A.L. - Branding, Logo Design and Website Development

YEAR: 2024

LEARN MORE

Signal to Noise Calculator Tool (SNRCalc)

YEAR: 2024

LEARN MORE

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VIEW MORE PROJECTS

COHORT 2024

MEET THE A.S.T.R.A.L. INSTITUTE'S 2024 STUDENT COHORT AND THEIR THOUGHTS ON THE PROGRAMS WE OFFER_

“A.S.T.R.A.L. is out of this world (literally)! The A.S.T.R.A.L. program allowed myself to learn what it really feels like to do research, especially in an amazing team environment. It was fun, engaging, and through this program, I was able to fully realise why I love astronomy. It's fun, challenging and very rewarding!”

rudra sekhri

“I loved my time at A.S.T.R.A.L.! It was a life-changing opportunity to actively engage with my interests in a completely new way, as well as work with some amazing like-minded people I never would have met otherwise.”

Evie Spilias

“Working in the A.S.T.R.A.L. program has been an immensely rewarding experience. Being able to collaborate and learn from such a rich and diverse group of people is what drew me to science in the first place, and this program offered it in spades! I have learned skills and techniques, not only in science and data analysis but also interpersonal relations, that I will carry with me and apply for the rest of my career.”

Hendrik Combrinck

"The non-orthodoxical learning in the A.S.T.R.A.L. program truly amazes me! I've never imagined the potential to learn from the most recent discoveries in the astronomy field. The helpful environment allowed me to acquire so much new knowledge about research and data science!"

Ruoyao Ni

"As someone intensely interested in astronomy, participating in A.S.T.R.A.L. has been an incredible experience. From manipulating real data to using a supercomputer, I've been able to get a taste of what working as an astrophysicist is truly like, which has only strengthened my determination to become one in the future!"

Rebecca Koehne

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APPLY

WE ARE NO LONGER ACCEPTING ANY PARTICIPANTS FOR THE 2024 PROGRAM. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING IN THE 2025 COHORT FOR THE A.S.T.R.A.L. PROGRAM

CLICK HERE

CLICK HERE

IMAGE: EARTH AS SEEN FROM THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION

SEE OUR MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQS) HERE

SEE OUR MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQS) HERE

SEE OUR FAQS HERE

SEE OUR FAQS HERE

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