Silver celebration for innovative astrophysics field trip

An award-winning Physics and Astronomy field trip is celebrating its silver anniversary this year.

The innovative Tenerife Field Trip was first launched in 1990 and 25 years later more than 300 students have benefited from its pioneering challenges.

The idea for the collaboration between the University of Southampton and the University of La Laguna (ULL), in Tenerife, started out as a casual conversation over a cup of coffee at an astronomy conference in 1988. But just two years later students from Southampton embarked on the first of many field trips to the island.

The hands-on astrophysics trip makes use of the world-class observing facilities at the Observatario del Teide, and sees students from Southampton and Tenerife working together in international teams to solve project goals.

Professor Malcom Coe, Astronomy Programme Coordinator, said: “We are delighted to be celebrating this milestone in the history of the Tenerife Field Trip. Over the years hundreds of students have benefited from the experiences this trip brings. Together with students from Tenerife they work to severe time constraints to solve a variety of challenges under some of the clearest night skies in Europe.

“Despite spending the week at altitude, working 12-hour nights, and often enduring freezing conditions, our students constantly rate this as the most rewarding experience of their undergraduate degree.”

The trip was originally funded under the European Union Erasmus programme and is the most successful course run by Physics and Astronomy in the last three decades. In 1994 it was recognised by the Partnership Trust and was awarded the Nuclear Electric Prize for Innovation in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education.