The School on Optical Astronomy Techniques (SOAT–2026) for faculty/educators and students of colleges and universities will be organized by IUCAA’s Astronomy Centre for Educators (ACE) during February 3 – 13, 2026, at the IUCAA campus in Pune. IUCAA has a concentration of expertise in optical instrumentation and observations, with research spanning galactic, extragalactic, and cosmological studies. The school aims to provide focused and in-depth learning of the theory, techniques, and applications of optical astronomy, combined with experiment-based learning.
The school is open to college and university faculty members, Post-Doctoral fellows, Ph.D. students, and under-graduate students in their 3rd year of B.Sc. / B.S. / Integrated M.Sc. or 3rd / 4th year of B.E. / B.Tech. Regular Master’s (M.Sc. / M.E. / M.Tech.) students are not eligible to apply.
All participants are expected to have a keen interest in astronomy and astrophysics, and a willingness to learn both theory and experiments. Participants will work in small groups on hands-on experiments, analyse the data, and present their findings in the form of reports and presentations.
Program Format:
The school will maintain a balance between lecture-based instruction and lab-based experimental work. Introductory lectures will cover observational, instrumental, and theoretical aspects of optical astronomy. The experimental sessions will include the use of lab-based optical systems and telescope-based observations of astronomical sources.
The participants will get introduced to optical astronomy through a series of lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on experiments. They will also get ample opportunity to carry out simple optical astronomy experiments and learn about the operation of optical telescopes. They will also participate in informal group discussions and other activities that enhance the learning experience.
Travel and Stay:
All selected participants will be provided accommodation on the IUCAA campus for the duration of the school. Travel expenses of the participants will be reimbursed by IUCAA as per the institute’s norms.
