[LUM#14] A Pioneer in Orbit
To help foster the development of the space industry in Senegal, the University of Montpellier is hosting three Senegalese students among the nine enrolled in the university’s “Space Systems Development” degree program. Only one woman is part of this first graduating class: Aïssatou Sidibe.
She is a pioneer. In 2012, the Thiès Polytechnic School in Senegal launched the first degree program for aerospace design engineers. When it came time to choose a major three years later, Aïssatou Sidibe decided to embark on this adventure. In doing so, she contributed to her institution’s ambitious goal: to advance research and technological innovation in aeronautics in her country. In 2020, the third class of aeronautical engineers trained in Senegal graduated, and Aïssatou Sidibe was one of only three women in her class.
“My goal has always been to work in Senegal, but I wanted to first round out my training with design experience abroad, since there isn’t yet an aeronautics design center in Senegal,” the young woman explains.
Space Adventure
So when the Senegalese Ministry of Higher Education contacted her school to present a new project, Aïssatou Sidibe didn’t hesitate for long and embraced this new mission: space. Senegal hopes to leverage space applications for the country’s economic, social, and scientific development. This ambition relies on nanosatellites—those small CubeSats that have revolutionized access to space—and the Montpellier University Space Center is a recognized expert in this field.
A new opportunity then opened up for Aïssatou Sidibe, who joined the first graduating class of the “Space Systems Development” program at the University of Montpellier in the fall of 2020. It was a field still dominated by men, where she was the only woman. The curriculum includes: an introduction to space systems, space project management, English for the space industry, space law, mathematical tools for space, and—of course—space mechanics.
Future Executives
In short, it’s a year focused on space that helps train future leaders in the field. “I’m learning a lot, even though I already had some basic knowledge from my aerospace engineering degree, ” explains the young woman. Aïssatou Sidibe hopes to bring this knowledge and expertise back to Senegal once she completes her training. “A company that will manufacture nanosatellites is expected to be established there soon, and I might have a role there, ” the student says.
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