space
the endless frontier
someday in our future explorers and
adventurers will sail among these stars
discovering new worlds and possibly new
civilizations
taking life where no life has been
before and carrying the seats of
humanity to worlds without end
but how does this future come about
who will lead this journey into tomorrow
where will they be trained and how
hello
i'm marina certis
you may know me as councillor diana troy
a member of the crew of this great ship
on our television series star trek the
next generation we live in a fictional
future one in which the great breakout
of humanity from the cradle of earth is
distant history a feta complete
but the world of star trek is only
fiction
there are no guarantees that the people
of earth can make it through the
difficult times we face at the end of
the 20th century yet we can succeed if
we work together
one project going on right now is not
only facing the challenge of space
it is helping people from cultures
around the world learn how to live and
work in harmony it is called the
international space university or isu
isu was founded in 1987 to provide a new
type of education which would give those
facing the challenges of space a global
and multi-disciplinary background at a
level of excellence which could be
understood and accepted around the world
today isu is sponsored by over 130 major
corporations and national agencies and
more participate each year
from the first session in 1988 isu has
maintained a truly international
character rotating between some of the
world's most prestigious academic
institutions
each session an average of 135 graduate
level students attend isu for the
intensive 70-day program
they come from over 35 nations and are
specialists in fields as diverse as
computers space geology engineering and
law
isu combines not only students from
different specialities but also students
from different nations
both giants in space and new entrants to
the space frontier
creating a dynamic mix which truly
mirrors the future of human space
activities
oh i've had a wonderful experience here
at isu it's uh i've learned a lot about
life sciences
that i did not know before coming i've
also learned an awful lot about other
engineering areas which are really very
important in the work that i do with
life sciences because you always have to
interface with engineers who are
developing hardware
beyond that i've learned a lot about the
importance of interacting with people at
various levels
and the international approach to that
has probably been the most enlightening
of all
we live together for 10 weeks and
we know each other
very very well we are now in a very very
interesting era because
the cold war
has almost ended and i think this is now
just now the time for the cooperation of
the world
and
and the isu can be a
catalyst for this kind of activity
realizing the daunting challenge of
building a real university from scratch
the founders of isu decided to develop
the institution in stages
one of these founders todd hawley
explains
isu benefited from that early plan that
we set up that allowed us to to develop
in a staged format
initially under the guise of space
generation foundation then following the
founding conference at mit as the isu
project inc
we were set up to run summer sessions a
fairly simple goal
but beginning to work in the millions of
dollars a year level and get sponsors
from over 100 different locations
now what we're looking at is the next
phase of isu's evolution towards the
permanent campus era
and as the isu organization inc our
third incarnation we're setting out on
that
very very exciting and i think a little
bit
challenging
frontier of education where we will be
pushing the edge
this animation is a model of a large
space station
it can be used to test out the theories
of its designers and will enable them to
prove their concept before actually
bending metal as it's called in the
aerospace world
so too the isu summer sessions have been
a model for the next stage of the isu
project
the development of a full-time permanent
campus system stretching around the
globe
plans call for the opening of the first
campus by 1995
from its central campus isu will manage
and supervise a network of affiliate and
advanced campuses to be developed in
association with the world's very best
universities and research facilities
each of these campuses will be a
specialized working environment
featuring advanced studies and research
in each of the nine areas of study
offered by isu
as year-round operations commence the
isu experience can be offered to greater
numbers of students while studies and
projects can be pursued in much greater
depth and detail
the centers will be staffed by
world-renowned faculty who will be able
to participate in isu often without
leaving home
this breakthrough will be made possible
by the isu net an electronic voice data
video communications and computing
system unlike anything yet available
from his home in sri lanka here is isu's
chancellor arthur c clarke inventor of
the communication satellite and author
of 2001 a space odyssey this course fits
in ideally with the isu's objectives
because even
though you want a permanent campus where
people can meet face-to-face interact
after they've done that
when they're dispersed they can still
interact in a way they could never have
done if they hadn't met personally
so we get the best of both worlds people
will not have to gather together in
large communities for long periods of
time they can meet occasionally and then
they can continue to interact study
through their home consoles wherever
they are
imagine a student or researcher needing
information on a subject will merely
press a few buttons and be face to face
with the top experts in any field of
study anywhere in the world
conferences and classes can be attended
by students and faculty at a fraction of
the cost of physical travel
and students can interact with experts
in over-the-shoulder experiments
although thousands of kilometers apart
isu net will feature a global electronic
space library providing isu students
access to the vast amount of space
information and data which already
exists
and creating a clearinghouse for the
huge amounts of new data we will gain as
we move outward into space in the next
century
isu is working with top authorities from
academia to develop the world's first
mss or master in space studies degree
in the 21st century it will become a
symbol of excellence recognized around
the world and those who have achieved it
will certainly number among tomorrow's
space pioneers
as a first step toward this dream
isu has created a founders association
which is accepting grants and donations
from visionary individuals and groups
who want to be a part of this historic
venture
with contributions of one thousand us
dollars or more they are putting their
money where their dreams are and taking
a stand for that future
these critical donations are being used
to plan and design the first isu
permanent campus
isu's first president george van rate
here we have one
cause
that does not look at
let's call it damage control
that looks at creating the future making
the future better
for you
for your children for the generations
that come after us so why not support it
thanks to early contributions by
founders association members the
university's campus planning is well
underway
curriculum faculty requirements academic
standards and the technologies needed to
make it a world educational showcase are
being discussed and developed today the
future is coming
it is up to us to make of it what we
will
too often we fall victim to songs of
doom and warnings of limitations about
what we as humans can do or dream
isu stands in direct opposition to this
philosophy a place where caring
understanding and a passion to know what
is unknown brings out the best of what
it means to be a human being
if ever in our history there was a time
to build an institution like isu
this is it
to date over 500 students have passed
through the doors of the isu summer
sessions they entered as representatives
of nations they leave as representatives
of our species
and isu does represent us all
no matter where we are or what we do the
work of the graduates of isu will affect
our lives and those of our children as
they assume the leadership of our space
activities in the 21st century
but your help is needed
your contribution to this great cause
will help us give a home to what is best
about the human race
the isu
is now training the engineers
the scientists
and the explorers
who are going to tackle the immense
challenge
of exploring and then exploiting this
new ocean and the
continents scattered across it the
curtain is going up
on this
wonderful awe-inspiring play
and the
members of the isu
are going to be the actors
from a learning experience which
stretches around the globe
isu plans to actually become a true
space university
building its first orbital research
facilities
for isu the trek has just begun
where it will lead no one knows
but if it is to lead anywhere at all isu
needs your help now so that tomorrow we
can give our children the future they
deserve
seldom in history does a chance come
along to make a real difference
you have that chance now
join us
sorry
okay aren't there any moment you'd like
to begin okay
sitting here beside the indian ocean the
largest unexplored body of water on this
planet
seems an appropriate place to talk about
the international space university which
is concerned with the next great age of
exploration the exploration of space
and the isu is going to do that by
training the
engineers scientists
and the explorers who
during the next century you're going to
go out
and explore first the moon and then i'm
sure mars
the moons of jupiter and all these
strange and exotic places
even stranger than those on this planet
which are there waiting
for
the future of the human race to
develop on a stage greater than anyone
ever dreamed of in the past
sitting here by the side of the indian
ocean the
largest unexplored bodybuilder in this
planet
seems an appropriate place to talk about
the international space university
which is
of concerned with
larger scale
the ocean of space
is infinitely larger
than that of
the scene
the isu
is now training
engineers
scientists
and the explorers
who are going to tackle the immense
challenge
of exploring and then exploiting this
new ocean and
continents scattered across it
ours
first moon
and mars
then probably the
giant moons
jupiter and saturn which are worlds in
their own right
huge stage on which the future drama
of the human race
is going to be played
we're at the beginning
is going up
on this
wonderful
is
when people ask me why
they should support the isu
as opposed to the innumerable other good
causes repeating all the time
i'm reminded of the beginning of the
great age of exploration and very few
people like columbus you know appeal to
royal patrons and stuff we think we
under good things will give us the money
to build the ships and we'll open up a
new world
and of course that's exactly what
happened
what would our world be like now if
columbus hadn't seen support then
because eventually we would have
started a new world
but this is a crucial time now
what do you think
oh
you