Students benefit from Space entrepreneurship talk
Final year students on undergraduate Business programmes were this week exploring Space as a megatrend as part a module taught by Dr Sharon Lèmac-Vincere of the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship.
The students had two special guest speakers for the class: Salar Javid and Fergus Klein joined the class from Canada - at 2am their time - to share their views and expertise. Salar Javid is a Canadian entrepreneur and investor with a passion for sustainable space mining while Fergus Klein is an Associate Director at Creative Destruction Lab who works with Canadian Astronaut Chris Hadfield.
The talk covered a range of examples of how space-based technology could be utilised to address how the UN Sustainable Development goals could help shape their future. Some of the examples shared were how expertise from 3D printing of organs in orbit could be translated and potentially used to address organ scarcity on earth; how harnessing alternative renewable energy sources from space could free up land on earth and provide energy in places currently uninhabited by humans; and how satellite connectivity has provided internet access to remote areas of earth which could be a catalyst to reduce poverty. The talk also highlighted the multiple opportunities for Strathclyde business students to get involved in the commercial space sector.
Dr Lèmac-Vincere said, "It's wonderful for our students to be able to connect with, and discuss, the entrepreneurial opportunities offered by Space with entrepreneurs from across the globe. Space has so much potential for our students who will one day become leaders and entrepreneurs and - if they are not working in the space sector - they will be using space data and space-based technology.
"I am keen to present the students with as many opportunities as possible to learn about megatrends from leaders and entrepreneurs from around the world and it was tremendously kind of Salar and Fergus to join my class and inspire the next generation of space entrepreneurs. They certainly gave the students a lot to think about."
Published: 29 September 2023
