Good news for students and young people who wish to try themselves as active scientists and engineers searching for extraterrestrial life!
The SETI Institute has announced its ARISE Lab program, originally launched with support from the Amateur Radio and Digital Communication (ARDC) Foundation. This project introduces SETI research to community colleges, offering hands-on training in astronomy, digital signal processing and radio science for both instructors and students.
The ARISE program leverages the SETI Institute’s decades of expertise to create an immersive, interdisciplinary learning experience. Using the search for extraterrestrial intelligence as an engaging framework, the curriculum introduces students to digital communications, signal analysis, and radio astronomy through hands-on projects. The team has created an experiential learning technique (ELT) curriculum. Participants analyze real-time radio telescope data from the Allen Telescope Array (ATA), the only radio observatory built specifically for detecting technosignatures. Through this, students learn to distinguish and study signals from actual cosmic phenomena.
The SETI Institute will host an in-person workshop at HCRO from June 25–27, 2025, for six selected community college instructors. Attendees will receive travel and lodging support, tour the telescope facility, conduct live observations, test lab exercises and collaborate with peers. The program features lecture slides, pre-lab readings, instructor guides, and adaptable teaching materials.
Research confirms that SETI is among the most engaging scientific topics for students. By linking technical lessons to the search for extraterrestrial life, ARISE fuels their natural curiosity about the life beyond Earth. This initiative not only advances SETI research but also empowers the next generation of scientists and engineers through immersive, real-world learning.
If you wish to learn more about the program or take part in the event, visit the site where you can find all necessary information: ARISE