International Space University’s space studies program 2014 to be hosted by ETS and HEC Montreal

From June 9 to August 8, astronauts from around the world, leaders of national space agencies, world-renowned academics and researchers, CEOs of international space companies as well as entrepreneurs from innovative start-ups will gather in Montreal to support the Space Studies Program (SSP) of the International Space University (ISU). The SSP is an intensive nine-week session for university graduate students and professionals from all disciplines, making this program a unique educational experience.

École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS), an engineering school, and HEC Montréal, a business school, will host approximately 110 space professionals and graduate students from almost 30 countries. The schools’ complementary strengths offer tremendous potential to support the ISU’s rich curriculum. In addition, Montreal is an aerospace hub, which made it a natural fit for the SSP.

“After Toronto and Vancouver, ISU is pleased to return for the third time to Canada for an SSP session. ISU has a very strong supporting Canadian alumni base, grouped under CFISU, and hopes that as many alumni as possible will take the opportunity to support this year’s session in Montreal. We also hope that the space sector in Quebec will take this opportunity to demonstrate its vast space experience to the participants and experts from all over the world associated with this program,” says Walter Peeters, president of ISU. 

“This renowned summer program will be an amazing opportunity to share our experience with the international participants of the SSP14,” states Pierre Dumouchel, director general of ÉTS.  “Montreal is the hub of the aerospace sector in Canada and ÉTS is a significant academic member of it. We created AÉROÉTS, an academic and research cluster dedicated to aerospace engineering. This cluster is involved in more than 90 research projects and 9 industrial research chairs.” 

“HEC Montréal is proud to be the first business school hosting the Space Studies Program in its 27-year history,” says Michel Patry, director of HEC Montréal. “Space development poses a very unique set of management challenges. Our expertise in the areas of innovation and knowledge management, and more specifically in management of large-scale projects in industrial sectors such as space, will offer a practical perspective in addressing very complex problems.” 

The director of SSP14 is Dr. David Kendall, senior executive advisor to the president of the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and a faculty member of the ISU since 1990.  He brings extensive international experience to the program. NASA’s Dr. John Connolly will serve as SSP14 co-director.  Connolly most recently served as exploration chief scientist at NASA Headquarters, and brings over 25 years of aerospace experience to ISU. He has been an ISU faculty member since 1993. 

This year, the program benefits from the support of many local actors including United Technologies Corporation (Pratt & Whitney), MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates, the Canadian Space Agency, the Quebec Government, Investissement Québec, the International Civil Aviation Organization, and Aéroports de Montréal.

“Discovering Space” is an important part of the activities that ISU is proposing all summer long in Montreal. The following events will be free and open to the public. 

June 17 at 7:00 p.m., ÉTS

June 23 at 7:30 p.m., ÉTS

June 27 at 2:00 p.m., ÉTS 

June 30 at 7:30 p.m., HEC Montréal, Banque Nationale Amphitheatre

July 9 at 8:00 p.m., ÉTS

July 10 at 7:30 p.m., HEC Montreal, Banque Nationale Amphitheatre

July (date and location to be announced)

A complete list of events are available at: 

http://www.isunet.edu