Programme
The CELTA School runs from arrival on Monday 8 June to departure on Saturday 20 June, 2026. Participants will stay for 12 nights: with 9 days of study and interactive activities, plus 2 days at the weekend dedicated to extracurricular activities. The arrival and departure days include travel by coach and ferry between Glasgow and Skye and a tour of the Highlands historic sites such as Eilean Donan Castle, enroute.
Programme Schedule
Each lecturer will give a 2 hour course spread over two days of the school. Lectures total 30 hours. Hands on practical computer lab sessions will be held on utilisation of online software systems and databases available for asteroid/NEO/space missions research. Activities will run between 9:00 to 12:30 and 14:30 to 17:30, with evening poster sessions and social activities. Apart from the four hours of lectures planned for each day, 1.5 hours will be reserved for workshops/seminars, lab sessions, poster sessions and individual research talks by the participants.
Student Seminars & Posters
Students will have the opportunity to present their own research during daily seminar discussion sessions in which lecturers and their fellow participants will discuss and provide feedback on their work. Participants can also use the evening poster sessions to present their work.
Collaborative working
Ample time and opportunities will also be available for informal interactions between lecturers and participants and for researchers to develop their collaborative projects. Following its success at the last summer school 2022, we will organise a 3 minute research networking round in the first week, followed by 5 minute research presentation group events in the second week – enabling collaborative working, networking and presentation skills.
Professional Development
Careers Development: an evening Q&A Round Robin event where participants meet colleagues in a range of career roles - academia, spinoff companies, space agencies, space technology. The lecturers/research fellows/ECRs will give insight on their career paths, top tips for success. Includes discussion with EDI role models on EDI issues and confidence/imposter phenomenon.
Public Outreach with the local community & public outreach development opportunity
Dr Ettore Perozzi, renowned Italian author, will present on The Truth About the Three-Body Problem to participants and the local community. He will also lead a School workshop on developing successful public outreach.
Publications
All participants/lecturers will receive a copy of the lectures. Lectures will be video-recorded and presentations made accessible online. A Graduate Textbook will be created from the invited lectures, both e-book and hardcopy.
Extracurricular activities
The School will include multi-cultural celebrations: a ceilidh night with Scottish Country dancing; the Highlight of the School – a Concert from around the world (poetry, singing, music) from our talented participants; Arts, crafts and history of Gaelic culture from the Gaelic college and a final Gala conference dinner. Social activities at the weekend will be organised, such as a visit to Mallaig, hill-walking in the Scottish hills, guided walks to gaelic historic sites, tours of the local Whisky distillery, boat trip to Knoydart and seal watching.
