McMaster Planetary Society

McMaster University has a diverse space community, with many space focused technical teams and outreach clubs. The McMaster Planetary Society has the unique ability to cater to all students regardless of educational background or experience. That is why in my first year leading the team in 2019, I proposed that the McMaster Planetary Society should lead the effort in creating McMaster's first Space Week. The goal of the week was to create events for all students with varying interests in space. It was important to have career oriented events as well as social events to allow students to interact with people who share the same interests. Many of the space related teams and clubs hosted events during the week, which helped showcase a united space community at McMaster. This is remarkable as McMaster does not have a formal aerospace faculty, however we have a thriving space community that is lead by our passionate students. I am happy to say I was a part of organizing McMaster Space Week two years in a row! Despite Covid-19 restrictions and all events being online, McMaster's second Space Week was successful, reaching many students with a passion for space.

The McMaster Planetary Society co-hosts an annual Space Industry Night with the Engineering Coop and Career Services, to help connect students to leaders within the Canadian space sector. The first part of the event is a panel; to open the discussion on entering the space industry, for industry professionals to offer advice and to inspire students interested in this career path. The second half of the event is for networking. This allows students to meet personally with professionals working at space companies or those a part of post secondary space related educational programs. In 2019 the event saw approximately 150 students with 10 industry booths. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, this year the event was online, however it was still a huge success! The event was hosted on an interactive online platform called Hopin and there were upwards of 170 students in attendance with 10 industry booths present.

The Ascension Space Conference is SEDS-Canada's annual conference held by a team at a different university every year. The McMaster Planetary Society was chosen to host the conference at McMaster for the 2019-2020 school year. The conference took place from February 28th-March 1st, 2020 at McMaster Innovation Park. The theme of the conference was 'Innovating Space, An Entrepreneurial Mission', which focused on space startups and the diverse space companies that are found in the Canadian sector. I had spent 10 months planning the conference with Bryan Southwell, SEDS-Canada's Events chair for 2019-2020. My sister Hira Nadeem (President of SEDS-Canada 2019-2020) played a huge role in the planning and overall success of the conference along with my hardworking team at the McMaster Planetary Society. It was an amazing experience where I learned more about the Canadian space sector, networking, and being an effective leader. I loved getting to meet like minded students and inspiring industry guests who helped me realize my passion for space exploration. I am so grateful that the conference was held prior to the Covid-19 related lockdowns that occurred just two weeks after the conference.