Executive Space Course

The participants came from diverse professional backgrounds, ranging from trainees to CEOs, and represented various sectors within the space industry.  

Bianca Lins works as a Legal Officer and lead the Lichtenstein Space Department at the Office for Communications. "I was looking at the program and saw that it really covered so many different aspects and I thought it's a brilliant idea to come to Oslo," she says.

The participants worked in several fields within the space industry such as earth observation, satellite communications, insurance, IT, and investment banking, among others.

Abdullah Altaleb works as a Team Leder at the Commission on Communication, Space and Technolgy in Saudi Arabia, and have a background i entrepreneurship. "I think I needed to join such a course to learn about the industry and also the the subsectors within the industry," Ataleb explains. 

The participants brought perspectives and insights from their respective fields, eagerly asking questions and sharing their knowledge and the inclusion of professionals at various career stages fostered dynamic interactions and networking opportunities.

"You see some people within the same age bracket, and even younger, and these guys are going to be the people who form the future. So that's for me is really, really important because I want to be in this industry for the next however many years" states Miguel Calvete who works as Director for Space Insurance at the Price Forbes in the United Kingdom.

Seventeen lecturers taught about their field of expertise, both on an international scale and within a Norwegian context. Speakers included representatives from the Norwegian Space Agency, University of Oslo, Kongsberg Defense and Aerospace, Space Norway, Andøya Space, Kongsberg Satellite Services and the International Space University.

"I liked the lecture on Mars. The other one that stands out is on rockets. Exciting topic and I think the lecturer made it simple to understand rockets, at least from a high-level perspective", Altaleb states. 

For Bianca Lins the variety of topics covered was a strong motivation to attend the course, and the lecture on how to build habitats on the Moon was one of the highlights.

The five-day course consisted of lectures, interactive sessions and a visit to Kjeller Innovasjon where the participants engaged with Norwegian space-startups.

"The startup companies that did the pitch on the different ideas people have and how to use the data, and also how to bring in innovation up to space, was really great", Lins explains. 

One of the interactive sessions was the workshop on space law and policy. The participants were organized into groups representing various entities, including NGOs, commercial space businesses, established space nations, and emerging space nations. These groups actively participated in discussions addressing current challenges and questions within the space industry.

The Executive Space Course was organized by the International Space University in collaboration with the Norwegian Space Agency. The course aimed to provide an extensive overview of various space-related topics, encompassing both technical and non-technical areas.

As Bianca Lins summarized on her LinkedIn, "Over the past week, we've delved into why space matters, explored new and future space trends, and covered topics like remote sensing, humans in space, and satellite communications. We tasted astronaut food and met innovative space startups!".