Young minds behind Tunisia’s satellite lift-off
Tunisians had reason to celebrate last month after the country’s first domestically built satellite, Challenge-1, was launched from Kazakhstan.
But for the team of engineers supporting the project at telecoms company Telnet, the real high point was when they received the first signal from the satellite, which blasted off aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket.
“Hearing its heartbeat for the first time was incredible,” said Haifa Triki, 27, a payload specialist on the project.
Zaher Chaabane, a 25-yearold embedded development engineer, said it was an emotional moment after three years of hard work.
The launch was a major milestone in the African space race and Challenge-1 is the first of more than 20 satellites Tunisia plans to put into Earth’s orbit over the next five years.
The project also brought a team of young engineers into the spotlight at a time of high unemployment among youths in Tunisia, including many with degrees.
“One of the greatest points of pride for me is the remarkable work we achieved with such a young team,” said project leader Anis Youssef.
With few opportunities in high-tech fields at home, hundreds of the best and brightest young people in Tunisia are often forced to look for work in Europe or the Gulf each year.
The brain drain feeds into a cycle that keeps tech investment out of Tunisia.
But Mr Youssef sought to recruit a team of young, top-tier engineers from Tunisian universities to work on the Challenge-1 project, before they had a chance to emigrate.
Many, including Mr Chaabane, began working on the project as interns while they were studying at university.
“I had classmates who left for internships or jobs in France or Canada,” said Mr Chaabane.
The prospect of earning a higher salary abroad was not as compelling as the opportunity to work on such a high-profile project, he said.
“This was something completely historic. We all had shared goals and pushed each other to give the most we could,” he said.
For Ms Triki, the biggest draw was being given responsibility for tackling complex problems so early in her career.
She said that although the task required dedication and focus, “we learnt so much as a team and set the bar incredibly high”.
The team in Tunis was supported by others in Toulouse and Moscow.
The team also received help and encouragement from Tunisian engineers working abroad, including one who worked on Nasa’s Mars Perseverance mission.
Thousands of people applied for the handful of positions available on the Challenge-1 project.
Mr Youssef said that proved there was a deep talent pool in Tunisia.
But for young people who do not find work in the country, there is often little cause for optimism.
At a cafe in Ettadhamen, a working-class neighbourhood in Tunis that is prone to unrest, Neji, a computational engineer, said that while some students found work abroad right away, others were left to make stark choices.
Neji, 34, said he worked for an international company in Paris in 2018 and after arriving in the city began to meet other young Tunisians “who came to Europe the other way – on boats”.
Last year, a record 13,000 Tunisian migrants crossed the Mediterranean on boats with the aim of starting a new life in Europe.
That was five times higher than the number of Tunisians who made the crossing in 2019. Many young, well-educated people have often been among their ranks.
But the success of the team at Telnet could lead to the creation of more jobs in Tunisia’s aerospace.
The constellation of satellites the country plans to launch in the next few years will monitor wildlife and support internet connectivity in remote areas, among other things.
Engineering teams will have to grow to meet these new challenges.
Mr Youssef said he was confident that he could rely on Tunisia’s young people to step up to the mark.
“When you give young people your confidence, when you give them a chance and value their work, they give you their absolute max,” he said.