About the Tsiolkovsky Association
Association Tsiolkovsky is created by a group of young people with common interests and ambitions. In February 2004, the Association was authorized by the Bulgarian Court of Justice.
The main goal of “Tsiolkovsky” is Space Challenges Program – the biggest educational program for space science, technology and exploration in Central and Eastern Europe https://spaceedu.net
Our idea is to create a network of capable young people with science and tech knowledge and to unite their efforts in the successful realization of projects with positive public impact and significance. We share a common passion for space and our goal is to enable the next generation of explorers and space professionals.
We hope that we will succeed and contribute to the development of capable young people and their future professional realization is space and high-tech sectors.
Reason:
The rapid development of the technological sector in the last 2 decades changed the world completely. New industries were created and new companies took major role in the world’s market (Apple, Microsoft, Google, Facebook, SpaceX, Uber, DJI. Jobs that did not exist years ago are now of major importance. Some technologies have developed so quickly that they have been dubbed “exponential technologies” (new technological concepts that tend to develop and mature very quickly because of their many potential economic/scientific applications) as a testament to the huge progress that those achieve on a year-to-year basis. Exponential technologies include biotechnology, nanotechnology and material sciences, artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics, 3D printing, neuroscience, to name a few. Those technologies also impact greatly the education and learning processes.
An effective education is one, which relies on practical experience and inspiration. Space research and exploration have always attracted the interest of young people and students, while at the same time being strongly connected to core science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines and their application to real problems. However, during the last decade there has been almost no public support in Bulgaria for space science and high-technology education. Furthermore, few educational laboratories exist for designing, engineering and developing student-led high-technology projects in Bulgaria, which makes it very difficult for students (aged 14-22) and young people (aged 22-30) to receive such education. This has a direct impact on the retention rates of young people in scientific and engineering disciplines in the region, further worsening the prospects of bringing up a future generation of technological leaders and entrepreneurs, and science experts, which our country desperately needs for its development.
Space Challenges is a unique educational program for space science, technology and exploration / https://spaceedu.net /. By using leading expertise in the field of technology and science, we have created the most advanced outreach program for exponential technologies and space science for young people /age 16-28/. Our mission is to help develop a generation of young scientists and technology professionals with an entrepreneurial mindset, who have been exposed to the best practices in space research and high technologies worldwide. There is an urgent need to create educational courses and workshops that implement the state-of-the-art methodologies of the leading educational systems. Those practices will introduce young people in Bulgaria to innovative sciences and technology, and will open unprecedented opportunities for entrepreneurial initiatives that will strengthen the connections between technological innovation and the economic growth in the region.