Profile: International Space University

The excitement of the 26th National Space Symposium is captured in the event’s dramatic commemorative poster, sponsored by International Space University (ISU). Created by Space Foundation artist Paul Parson, the 20 inch by 36 inch poster depicts a view from space of a brilliant burst of light emanating from Earth’s orbit.

“The design is intended to convey a major event, not just on Earth, but within the conceptual reference of space,” said Parson.

Parson, who has a bachelor’s degree in visual arts from the University of California, San Diego, has been staff artist at the Space Foundation since 2007. This is his first year creating the poster for the National Space Symposium.

ISU provides graduate-level training to the future leaders of the emerging global space community at its Central Campus in Strasbourg, France, and at locations around the world. In its two-month Space Studies Program and one-year masters program, ISU offers its students a unique Core Curriculum covering all disciplines related to space programs and enterprises – space science, space engineering, systems engineering, space policy and law, business and management, and space and society. Both programs also involve an intense student research Team Project providing international graduate students and young space professionals the opportunity to solve complex problems by working together in an intercultural environment.

Since its founding in 1987, ISU has graduated more than 2,900 students from 100 countries. One-quarter of ISU’s global alumni population are women, and the percentage is growing. In fact, one-third of its U.S. alumni are women, and in the class of 2008, U.S. women enrollees outnumbered U.S. men.

Together with hundreds of ISU faculty and lecturers from around the world, ISU alumni comprise an extremely effective network of space professionals and leaders that actively facilitates individual career growth, professional activities, and international space cooperation.

The Space Foundation is a supporter of ISU and is hosting one of its Executive MBA modules in Colorado Springs in March, with students attending from nine countries.

The premier gathering of the global space community, the 26th National Space Symposium will be held April 12-15 at The Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs, Colo.

To see a list of corporate sponsors, click here; to learn how to become a corporate sponsor, email Sponsorships@SpaceFoundation.org

For more information on ISU, click here.