Cork the final frontier for space event at CIT
It has been announced that the delegates will spend 10 weeks at workshops which will be hosted in the summer of 2017 at Cork Institute of Technology (CIT). The delegates will come from the USA, China, Canada, Australia, and India.
CIT will host the 30th International Space University Annual Space Studies Programme and has been chosen because the organisers have recognised Cork as an ideal location.
Cork already boasts Radisens Diagnostics, which is located in CIT’s business incubator and funded by the European Space Agency.
There’s also the Blackrock Castle Observatory and the country’s first Earth observation ground station, founded in 2013 by National Space Centre (Ltd) in nearby Midleton.
The announcement was made yesterday and CIT said that a number of astronauts would also attend the events, some of which will be open to the public.
“The International Space University maintains a long-standing relationship with Ireland and has a considerable number of Irish alumni, thanks to the support of scholarship grants from Enterprise Ireland,” said International Space University president professor Walter Peeters.
Space Studies Programme director John Connolly said: “Participants will be immersed in the International Space University world-class brand of space education while surrounded with the culture of the Emerald Isle, the incredible facilities at CIT, and majestic destinations like the Blackrock Castle Observatory.”
CIT president Brendan Murphy said they were delighted to be hosting the ISU.
“We look forward to an event that will live long in the memory and have a positive impact not only on the participants, but also on our own faculty and students, as well as companies and communities in the region,” Dr Murphy said.
Cork has previously hosted international space-related events like the NASA incubator innovation programme, SpaceApps, and the European Space Agency’s CanSat competition for schools.
CIT head of research Niall Smith said space science was a rapidly growing area with significant commercial potential for companies from across a 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,” said Dr Smith.
