Fátima Pinto
Education Office of the European Space Agency
I work for the Education Office of the European Space Agency (ESA) as a Science Didactics Expert.
Describe a typical day.
There is no typical day. I coordinate the development of Earth Observation-related classroom activities that focus on the use of satellite data from different ESA Earth Observation missions. I also coordinate the Climate Detectives school project, in which teams of school students are challenged to investigate a local climate problem make using real data. We also organize teacher training for educators from all over Europe. Many of these activities are done in collaboration with the national ESERO offices (ESA’s ESERO project). In order to do this work of coordination and to develop new activities, I have many meetings with the team, with ESERO national collaborators, and also with ESA experts on different topics. We also test hands-on activities and technologies that teachers can use with their students.
Top tip from Fátima for those interested in a similar career:
It is very important to know how to work as a team and how to collaborate and communicate with people from different countries. It is also very important to be eager to study and learn more. And as for any job, I think it’s important to like what you are doing.
