Since 1969 we have been running the International Astronomical Youth Camp (IAYC), a three-week-long program designed to inspire the next generation of astronomers. Every year around sixty 16–24-year-olds from all around the world live and work together in a dark sky site, carrying out their own independent research project.

In this talk, I will discuss how the IAYC has grown from a small gathering of people in tents to an organisation with around 2,000 alumni from 77 countries. I will explain what life at the camp is like, from the daily schedule to the type of projects the participants undertake (which range from numerical simulations to taking their own data with the telescopes at the camp).

Finally, I will present the results of an alumni survey we conducted and published in Nature Astronomy which highlights the importance of outreach programs such as the IAYC, backing up the findings with my own personal experience.

Book a virtual seat here.

About the speaker: Daniel Mortimer, Dr

Dr Mortimer is the current president of the International Workshop for Astronomy (IWA), the non-profit organisation that runs the International Astronomical Youth Camp (IAYC). He first attended the IAYC in 2012 before going on to help organise the program from 2015 onwards. His time at the IAYC is what inspired him to pursue a career in astrophysics.

He is also a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Exeter where he works developing BIFROST, a new instrument for ESO’s Very Large Telescope Interferometer.