A new €100,000 scholarship programme to assist Irish students in attending the International Space University (ISU) in Strasbourg has been launched.
The Gogarty Scholarship, named after famed Irishman, Oliver St John Gogarty, will this year make €7,500 available for the ISU’s Space Studies Programme and €12,500 for the MSc in Space Studies or the MSc in Space Management.
The scholarship is funded by Dublin businessman and philanthropist Martin Keane and also by Discover Science and Engineering.
It will run over the next five years and will in total make €100,000 available for space study. Successful candidates will be chosen on merit, having demonstrated a deep interest in space, especially in the context of Irish space activities. The ISU and Gogarty Scholarship officials will jointly assess the candidates, who must be Irish citizens.
“The purpose of this scholarship is to assist Irish students with an interest in space to realise their ambitions. I believe our future economic success lies in our ability to grow and sustain a culture of innovation and learning. This launch brings us a step closer to achieving that goal and I am delighted to be associated with this initiative,” said Martin Keane.
Keane is a publican, hotelier and property developer. He is owner of the Oliver St John Gogarty pub in Temple Bar, as well as numerous other pubs and nightclubs around the capital. He is also heading up a multimillion redevelopment in Dublin’s Liberties area, where he has received planning permission to develop a Covent Garden-style quarter.
“It is good to see the private sector providing support to young people interested in pursuing science studies,” commented Peter Brabazon, programme director, Discover Science and Engineering. “Science, engineering and technology are important for the future development of the Irish economy and will also offer good jobs and career opportunities.
“This scholarship programme now makes space study, which young Irish people may have believed to be unattainable, a real option for them.”
The ISU provides graduate-level training at its central campus in Strasbourg, France, and at locations around the world. It offers its students a unique core curriculum covering all disciplines related to space programmes and enterprises – space science, space engineering, systems engineering, space policy and law, business and management, and space and society.
Since its founding in 1987, it has graduated more than 2,500 students from 96 countries. ISU alumni comprise an extremely effective network of space professionals and leaders.
Further information can be obtained at www.gogartyscholars.com. Closing dates for applications are 30 April for the Space Studies Programme and 30 June for the MSc in Space Studies and for the MSc in Space Management.
By Niall Byrne
