On Tuesday, January 28, 2025, SUN attended the UK Space Agency’s Inspiration Programme Networking Event, held at the National STEM Learning Centre in the beautiful city of York. Like the other attendees at the event, the Space Universities Network is funded by the UKSA to help work towards the ‘Inspiration’ element of the eight delivery priorities in their 2022-2025 Corporate Plan.

Having already met a few of the other delegates at an informal gather in the hotel bar the night before (SUN stuck to the Appletiser, to help ensure a clear head for the following day), we arrived at the STEM Centre ready for a full day of fascinating conversations. The main body of the event was a series of ‘Show and Tell’ sessions, where presenters were given a maximum of five minutes to demonstrate how they utilise the UKSA’s funding and what it is that they do. SUN was one of the names drawn from the hat before the event to take part in this, and it was a pleasure to be able to give a (very) quick overview of why we, as an organisation, exist, and how we are helping to make a difference.

Thankfully, SUN was in the first section of ‘Show and Tell’, meaning that, after the stresses of having the countdown timer making its presence felt throughout the address, the rest of the day could then be enjoyed and focused on. There were some excellent presentations delivered, including some that really made the most of the ‘Show and Tell’ title, such as the Geological Society of London who brought in an array of space rocks; Launch Access who delivered their talk with a rocket on the front of the desk; and the Institute of Physics, who not only showed off their excellent book Mimi’s Space Adventures, but also provided a copy for everyone to take home for their children (or niblings). Similarly, the International Centre for Life provided a preview of one of their planetarium shows that left everyone keen to see more…

Alongside the array of excellent talks, two workshop discussion were held, focusing on identifying and overcoming the barriers to success in the first one, followed by a round-robin sharing of experiences around a series of common themes. The ideas generated in this session, all collected by the UKSA team for future reference, were both insightful and thought-provoking, and it was interesting to see areas of shared viewpoints from a varied group of different organisations. The outcomes of these workshops will have provided food for thought for everyone present.

Speaking of food, lunch was also a great opportunity for networking, alongside the breaks for copious amounts of tea (Yorkshire Tea, naturally). Whilst it was good to catch up with familiar friends at the Agency, as well as the Space Applications Catapult and Space Skills Alliance, SUN enjoyed many positive conversations with a wide range of our fellow attendees, include those from Mathematics Education Innovation, the Association for Science and Discovery Centres, Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, Royal Museums Greenwich, SpaceCareers.uk, and We The Curious. As with events such as this, there are always interesting ideas that float about that can be the genesis of a related project, or the opportunity to collaborate with another body, and there are definitely some dialogues that SUN will be looking to continue.

All in all, the day was a great success, and a huge thanks has to go to Ingmar and the team at the UKSA for putting on such a great event. Beyond everything, it was clear to see how everyone there – already enthusiastic about space – was more inspired than ever before. It had, in essence, done exactly what it said on the tin. Was it worth SUN’s 10-hour round trip and an overnight stay to attend? Without a shadow of a doubt, the answer to that question has to be an emphatic, categorical, and unequivocal yes.