PSF, Chinese Embassy to organize competition for students
Islamabad: Pakistan Science Foundation (PSF) in collaboration with the Embassy of China in Pakistan will soon organize a competition titled ‘Descriptive Letter Writing Competition to Chinese Astronauts’ for students interested in space and breeding of crops in space.
After evaluation by the PSF’s expert committee, the selected letters will be sent to Chinese researchers. The winning students will be awarded certificates and cash prizes.
Female students are encouraged to participate in the competition. The related info can be obtained from the internet and websites of the Chinese Institute of Crop Sciences, The National Center of Space Mutagenesis for Crop Improvement, China and the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. The entries can be submitted till September 20 to the PSF.
In May 2022 more than 12,000 seeds of several types of grass, oats, fungi, alfalfa and others including some from the University of Karachi were sent to spacecraft for breeding while orbiting our planet, where they are under microgravity and are bombarded by cosmic rays, which trigger the plants to mutate, a process known as space mutagenesis. After six months, the seeds and thus bred plants are coming back from space in December 2022.
About the requirements for descriptive letter writing competition, the PSF informed that the descriptive letter should be not more than 500 words.
The medium of competition is English while the students from government and private schools of HSSC/SSC levels are eligible to participate.
The entries should be signed/stamped by the Head of the School/Institute. The letters should reveal students’ interest in space and the breeding of crops in space.
