Cork will be welcoming prestigious space alumni in 2017 as it has been decided that the 30th Space Studies Programme (SSP) run by the International Space University (ISU) will come to Ireland.
Discussing its reasoning for choosing Cork as the host city, the organisation cited Cork’s long history with the space industry, as well as its strong connection to some of the country’s biggest science and technology companies.
The city has also played host to other major space meet-ups, including NASA’s SpaceApps programme, and the European Space Agency’s (ESA) CanSat competition, and now Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) will be the SSP’s hub from 19 June to 18 August 2017.
The ISU describe the SSP as an intense nine-week programme offering the participants a comprehensive professional development experience covering all aspects of space programmes and enterprises.
Topics that will be covered by the programme include: space engineering; space policy; economics and law; space management and business; space and the humanities, space applications and human performance in space.
The programme is aimed at young and seasoned professionals from all disciplines, as well as post-graduate university students, with team projects allowing participants to refine the topic as a team, and also produce professional quality reports and final presentations over the course of the programme.
Dr Niall Smith, head of research at CIT, said of the programme: “Space science is a rapidly-growing area with significant commercial potential for companies from across a very diverse range of sectors, including food and nutrition, healthcare, logistics, ground supports, high-precision engineering and even rocket scientists. We look forward to working with ISU faculty in developing a greater awareness amongst Irish companies of these opportunities and how best to access them.”
Blackrock Castle and observatory image via Shutterstock
