30th Workshop on Space Technology for Socio-Economic Benefits:
"Challenges and Capacity-building Opportunities for Emerging Space Nations"

In partnership with the International Astronautical Federation (IAF)

Baku, Azerbaijan, 29 September - 1 October 2023, in conjunction with the 74th International Astronautical Congress
Venue: Baku Convention Centre, Heydar Aliyev Avenue, Baku

(Update on 25 September) The bios of the speakers are available online, please download the booklet.

(Update on 19 June) The call for abstracts and registrations are closed.

INTRODUCTION

The United Nations, through its Programme on Space Applications implemented by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), and the International Astronautical Federation (IAF) are co-organizing the Workshop on Space Technology for Socio-Economic Benefits on the theme "Challenges and Capacity-building Opportunities for Emerging Space Nations".
The purpose of the Workshop is to bring together people who are conducting capacity-building activities, from either government, space agencies, research institutes, academia, non-governmental organizations, and those who are interested in building partnerships to accelerate capacity-building in developing nations about using space technologies and applications for sustainable economic, social and environmental development.

The Workshop will be hosted by Azercosmos, held in Baku, Azerbaijan, from 29 September to 1 October 2023 in conjunction with the 74th International Astronautical Congress (IAC), and it will be the 30th in its series.

WORKSHOP OBJECTIVES

The Workshop will provide a platform for discussion about how to increase capabilities in space technologies and space applications within developing countries, as well as to increase awareness of the benefits they offer. The main objectives of the Workshop are to:

  1. Raise awareness of the various capacity-building efforts that are currently done in various countries and regions of the world, in particular efforts carried out through regional or international cooperation;
  2. Share challenges and success stories of capacity-building efforts, to discuss what methods are the most effective and what synergies could be applied between initiatives of different stakeholders;
  3. Bring together stakeholders from various governments, space agencies, academia, and industries to promote partnerships;

Presentations made during the Workshop will be published on the website of the Office for Outer Space Affairs, while the report of the Workshop and its recommendations will be distributed to the participants and to the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.

PROGRAMME

Day1: Friday 29 September 2023
09:00-09:15 1. Opening ceremony
  Opening remarks by Aarti Holla-Maini Director, United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA)
  Opening remarks by Clay Mowry President, International Astronautical Federation (IAF)
  Opening remarks by Samaddin Asadov Chairman, Azercosmos, the State Space Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan
09:15-10:00 2. Setting the scene
  Nathalie Ricard Scientific Affairs Officer, United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA)
  Christian Feichtinger Executive Director, International Astronautical Federation (IAF)
  Rena Jafarova IAC2023 Project Manager, Azercosmos, the State Space Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan
  Masami Onoda Chair, IAF Committee for Liaison with International Organisations and Developing Nations (CLIODN)
  Matias Campos Vice-Chair, IAF Committee on Connecting Emerging Space ecoSystems (ACCESS)
10:00-10:30 Coffee break
10:30-11:45 3. Panel "Needs of new space-faring nations or of non-space-faring nations to develop and obtain space-related knowledge and skills"
  Moderator:
- Hazuki Mori, United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA)
Panelists:
- Electdom Matandirotya, Zimbabwe National Geospatial and Space Agency (ZINGSA)
- Solomon Kwaku Appekey, Xavier Space Solutions, Ghana
- Asinta Ntida Manyele, Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology, United Republic of Tanzania
- Mensah Edoe Fernand, Institut National Polytechnique Houphouet Boigny, Côte d'Ivoire
- Matieu Henry, Food and Agriculture Organization
11:45-12:15 Networking
12:15-13:15 Lunch break
13:15-14:30 4. Panel "Needs of new space-faring nations or of non-space-faring nations to develop an industry and space ecosystem"
  Moderator:
- Nathalie Ricard, United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA)
Panelists:
- Anna Ebehita Aikohi, Space in Africa, Nigeria
- Ariane Platell, QL Space, Australia
- George Steve Fajardo Soria, National Commission for Aerospace Research and Development (CONIDA), Peru
- Madin Maseeh, Maldives Space Research Organisation (MSRO)
- Michele Cristina Silva Melo, University of Brasilia, Brazil
14:30-16:45 5. Session "University-level education in space engineering"
Chair: Vugar Bayramov, Azercosmos, the State Space Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan
  Fostering space education in Azerbaijan through small satellite design program for undergraduate students Nadir Atayev, Azercosmos, the State Space Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan
  The dual educational model at Mexican Space Agency (AEM): one year of challenges and lessons learned Rigoberto Reyes Morales, Mexican Space Agency (AEM)
  Empowering the future: building a national educational space engineering program Diana Aljbour, Jordan University of Science and Technology
15:15-15:45 Coffee break  
  UNISEC-Global's capacity-building programs Rei Kawashima, University Space Engineering Consortium-Global (UNISEC-Global), Japan
  Space engineering education programs in Kazakhstan Abdikul Ashurov, L. N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, Kazakhstan
  Developing an integral space education program, based on robotics and AI, to advance the Venezuelan education system Rogelio Morales García, Bolivarian Agency for Space Activities (ABAE), Venezuela
  Project-oriented training and space capacity building in Iran Behnam Sabouri, Iranian Space Agency (ISA)
16:45-17:45 6. Panel "The United Nations Access to Space for All initiative"
  Moderator:
- Hazuki Mori, United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA)
Panelists:
- Merle Cornelius, Center of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity (ZARM), Germany
- Tetsuhito Fuse, Kyushu Institute of Technology, Japan
- Charles Maina Mwangi, Kenya Space Agency (KSA)
- Georgina Aurelia Chávez Lizárraga, Universidad Católica Boliviana "San Pablo", Bolivia
Day2: Saturday 30 September 2023
09:00-09:15 7. Keynote by Anil Kumar, IAF Vice President for Relations with International Organizations
09:15-10:30 8. Session "University-level education about developing and using space applications"
Chair: Pieter van Beekhuizen, IAF Committee for Liaison with International Organisations and Developing Nations (CLIODN)
  Capacity-building activities in the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation region through ISNET fora Sadaf Sajjad, Inter-Islamic Network on Space Science and Technology (ISNET)
  Capacity-building opportunities: space and geospatial education in Nepal Krishna Prasad Bhandari, Tribhuvan University, Nepal
  Emerging capacity-building of a young Peruvian university: Universidad de Ciencias y Humanidades case study Natalia Indira Vargas Cuentas, Universidad de Ciencias y Humanidades, Bolivia
  Indian Space Research Organisation capacity-building academic activities for space technology and its applications Rajasekhar Meka, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)
10:30-11:00 Coffee break
11:00-12:15 9. Session "University-level education in space policy and law"
Chair: Nayoung Youn, Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), Republic of Korea
  IISL's capacity building activities for the global space law community International Institute of Space Law
  The relaca-espacio network and the Latin American round of the Manfred Lachs space law moot court competition Jairo Andres Becerra Ortiz, Universidad Católica de Colombia
  The first postgraduation course in space law & policy of Brazil Ian Grosner, Brazilian Space Agency (AEB)
  Filling the gaps in space policy, strategy and law in Africa Etim Okon Offiong, African Space Leadership Institute, Nigeria
  Developments in space policy and law in the South Caucasus Tatia Nikvashvili, Georgian National Competition Agency
12:15-13:15 Lunch break
13:15-14:45 10. Session "Lessons learnt in building education opportunities"
Chair: Matias Campos, IAF Committee on Connecting Emerging Space ecoSystems (ACCESS)
  Developing a framework for space education and capacity-building in Tunisia: lessons learned and best practices for other non-space-faring nations Karem Saad, National School of Engineering Sfax, Tunisia
  Evaluating the effectiveness of space education programs Mohamed Ibrahim, Egyptian Space Agency (EgSA)
  Insights gained from Nepal's space infrastructure development and satellite projects from the past three years Anuja Shrestha, Antarikchya Pratisthan Nepal
  Hybrid online and hands-on training framework for space emerging nation: Thailand case study and follow up Paripat Pairat, Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA), Thailand
  Space beyond sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics - building a truly inclusive space industry Remco Timmermans, International Space University
  International best practices in enabling capacity Hannah Ashford, The Karman Project, Australia
14:45-15:15 Coffee break
15:15-16:45 11. Panel "Lessons learnt in building a space ecosystem"
  Moderator:
- Nathalie Ricard, United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA)
Panelists:
- Meshack Kinyua Ndiritu, African Union Commission
- Michal Brichta, Slovak Space Office, Slovakia
- Pooja Lepcha, Government Technology Agency, Bhutan
- Mamonaheng Koenane, Impact School, Lesotho
- Nunzia Maria Paradiso, Italian Space Agency (ASI)
- Hamza Hameed, Space Generation Advisory Council
16:45-17:45 12. Building partnerships
18:00-19:00 Reception hosted by the International Astronautical Federation (IAF)
Day3: Sunday 1 October 2023
09:00-10:45 13. Session: "Education on space technology and applications at a level below university"
Chair: Wenbin Zhang, United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA)
  The Zero Robotics program: training secondary school students to code robots on the International Space Station Danielle Renee Wood, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States of America
  Developing a novel space camp model to inspire the next generation of space professionals Daniela Estefania Mera Granja, Astralintu Space Technologies, Ecuador
  Education level on space technologies and applications at schools in Sri Lanka Dulani Chamika Withanage, Kyushu Institute of Technology, Japan
  African girls/women in space robotics Udi Philippa, National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA), Nigeria
10:15-10:45 Coffee break
  Building capacity: lessons learned in developing educational opportunities Shelli Brunswick, Space Foundation, United States of America
  PhilSA's Space Information Infrastructure Capacity Building and Training Program Cyrus Nikko Pante, Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA)
11:15-11:30 14. Wrap-up
11:30-11:45 15. Closing ceremony
  Closing remarks by Samaddin Asadov Chairman, Azercosmos, the State Space Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan
  Closing remarks by Anil Kumar Vice President for Relations with International Organizations, International Astronautical Federation (IAF)
  Closing remarks by Aarti Holla-Maini Director, United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA)
11:45-12:00 Group photo
12:00 End of the workshop
12:15-13:15 Lunch

Download








<<Speakers' biographies

Call for Abstracts (Update on 19 June)

The call for abstracts has been closed since 4 June 2023.
Successful applicants have been informed in June 2023.

WORKING LANGUAGE

The working language of the Workshop will be English.
All participants are required to have good English language skills.

SPONSORSHIP

UNOOSA and the IAF are responsible for organizing the Workshop. Sponsorship of the workshop is still open to interested entities who may contact UNOOSA at unoosa-events@un.org.

EXPECTED PARTICIPANTS

The Workshop is being planned for a total of 150 participants. They include technical experts, innovators, educators, policy- and decision-makers from international, regional, national and local institutions, United Nations agencies, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, research and development institutions, and also from industry.

Participants will be selected up to the maximum capacity of the room, based on relevant professional and/or academic experience.

FINANCIAL SUPPORT

Within the limited financial resources available, UNOOSA may provide funding for individuals selected as a speaker and whose nationality is classified as a developing country. They will be selected on a competitive basis, depending on their place of origin and relevant professional or educational background. For the list of developing countries, please refer to the annex of the "World Economic Situation and Prospects 2023" report, available at https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/publication/world-economic-situation-and-prospects-2023/

Please note that financial support will only be considered for applicants who submit an abstract that is retained in the programme for an oral presentation at the workshop.

LIFE AND HEALTH INSURANCE

Health insurance for each of the selected participants is necessary and is the responsibility of the person or his/her institution or Government. UNOOSA will not assume any responsibility for life and health insurance, nor for expenses related to medical treatment or accidents.

CONTACT INFORMATION

For additional information on the Workshop programme, please contact UNOOSA at unoosa-events@un.org.

GROUP PHOTO

Copyright ©2024 UNOOSA, All Rights Reserved