Newton STFC-NARIT: Thai-UK Python+Astronomy Summer Schools (ThaiPASS): A STEM outreach project on Python with applications to data-driven astronomy

泰国-英国巨蟒+天文暑期学校项目(泰国-英国巨蟒+天文暑期学校)是由E.A.Milne天体物理中心(英国赫尔大学)和基础研究所(泰国Naresuan大学)与泰国国家天文研究所(Narit)合作共同提出的一个人类能力建设STEM外联项目。每个ThaipASS都是一所针对16-18岁左右的泰国中学生的全日制暑期学校。学生将接受科学计算方面的培训，学习的是Python，这是发展最快的开源编程语言之一，从就业能力的角度来看，也是最受欢迎的语言之一。学生将学习通过天文学这一最鼓舞人心和影响最大的STEM推动因素之一，使用Python来处理数据。在为期5天的课程中，来自英国的专业天文学家将指导学生完成一系列讲座和动手任务，涉及处理天文数据和产生视觉输出，如天文图像和视频。学生们将带着对数据科学在现代研究中的作用的新视角离开暑期班，并将受到启发，继续学习超出暑期班范围和时间范围的编码。暑期班还将包括“大学与职业”日，向学生介绍如何在大学水平和职业生涯中进一步发展STEM科目。泰国iPASS项目将解决泰国在科学和ICT教育方面的许多挑战，泰国已经远远落后于其他摆脱中等收入陷阱的国家。在ThaiPASS上，我们将把STFC资助的科学带给新的受众，他们可能没有机会以其他方式获得此类培训。在ThaiPASS开发的技能是最新的、相关的，很容易转移到广泛的工业和学术应用中。赫尔的英国团队特别了解高质量STEM外展的重要性：赫尔是英国最贫困的城市之一，有很大比例的表现不佳的学校。然而，通过我们之前的外展工作(过去三年中超过150个科学外展活动，主要在赫尔和约克郡地区)，我们亲眼目睹了STEM教育可以为那些原本可能不会考虑在大学学习科学并将其作为职业的年轻人带来的积极转变。近年来，由于Naresuan Narit的新一代国际公认的研究人员，泰国已经成为天体物理学研究的新兴参与者。对ThaiPASS项目的投资将是朝着形成强大和持久的泰英协同效应迈出的一小步但意义重大的一步，这很容易演变为未来在天体物理研究和进一步的外联活动方面的合作。

Project ThaiPASS (Thai-UK Python+Astronomy Summer School) is a human-capacity building STEM outreach project proposed jointly by the E.A. Milne Centre for Astrophysics (University of Hull, UK) and the Institute of Fundamental Study (Naresuan University, Thailand), with partnership from the National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand (NARIT). Each ThaiPASS is a full-board summer school aimed at Thai secondary school students age around 16-18. Students will receive training in scientific computing in Python, one of the fastest growing open-source programming languages and one of the most desirable from an employability perspective. Students will learn to use Python to handle data via the medium of astronomy, which is one of the most inspiring and high-impact STEM enablers. Over a 5-day course, professional astronomers from the UK will guide students through a series of lectures and hands-on tasks involving handling astronomical data and producing visual output such as astronomical images and videos. Students will leave the summer school with a new perspective on the role of data science in modern reserach, and will be inspired to continue to learn coding beyond the scope and time-scale of the summer school. The summer school will also include a "university and career" day to inform students on how STEM subjects can be taken further at university level and as a career.The ThaiPASS project will address many of the challenges in science and ICT education in Thailand, which has fallen far behind other countries emerging out of the middle-income trap. At ThaiPASS, we will bring STFC-funded science to new audiences who may not have the opportunity to access such training otherwise. The skills developed at ThaiPASS are current, relevant and easily transferable to a wide range of industrial and academic applications. The UK team from Hull particularly understand the importance of high-quality STEM outreach: Hull is one of the most impoverished cities in the UK with a large proportion of under-performing schools. However, through our previous outreach work (over 150 science outreach events in the past 3 years, mostly in Hull and the Yorkshire region), we have witnessed first-hand the positive transformation STEM education can make for young people who might not have otherwise considered taking up science at University and as a career.In recent years, Thailand has established itself as an emerging player in astrophysics research thanks to a new generation of internationally recognised researchers at NARIT, Naresuan. Chulalongkorn, Suranaree etc. Investment in the ThaiPASS project will be a small but significant step towards forging a strong and lasting Thai-UK synergy, which can easily spin off into future collaborations in astrophysics research and further outreach activities.