Newton STFC-NARIT: Using astronomy education as a motivator for long-term capacity building in STEM

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Astronomy is an area of science that interests and excites almost everyone - across all age, gender, social and cultural groups. However, this is in contrast to the science that it is part of, and the technology that drives it, which are often perceived as "boring" or "too complicated". This dislike (or even distrust) of science and technology can lead to even very young children deciding that science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) are not for them, closing down exciting career options before they are even aware that they exist. In the long term, this can cause significant problems for a nation, particularly one like Thailand, which needs an ever larger high-tech workforce if it is to continue to develop its economy.In the UK, the National Schools' Observatory (NSO) have for over two decade been using astronomy to help overcome these prejudices in younger children before they fully develop, and show them the possibilities that STEM careers can offer. In this project the NSO's experience will be shared with Thai astronomers, along with a wealth of educational resources and, most importantly, direct access to observations from the world's largest fully-robotic telescope - the Liverpool Telescope (LT) - and data from Thailands own national telescopes. This will provide a big boost for Thai education, and help Thai astronomers to share the excitement of what they do with a new, important, young audience.