A Comprehensive Tertiary Education Program in Satellite Systems Engineering

Elias Aboutanios
School of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications, The

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     Last modified: August 10, 2011

Abstract
In the final round of the ASRP funding, which was announced in June, The University of New South Wales (UNSW) led a consortium in securing funding for a stream A project to develop a comprehensive tertiary education program in satellite systems engineering. This presentation will give an overview of the proposed work and describe its outcomes. The project will sit alongside the Garada project under the umbrella of the recently established Australian Centre for Space Engineering Research (ACSER). In addition to UNSW, the consortium comprises Thales-Alenia Space (TAS), Optus, and L’Institut Superieure de l’Aeronautique et de l’Espace (ISAE). Within UNSW, it will tap into the extensive expertise in various areas that are fundamental to Satellite Systems Engineering and will draw key people from the various schools of the faculty of Engineering as well as from UNSW@ADFA. The project aims to develop a viable and sustainable satellite systems engineering program that is optimised for Australia’s strategic and commercial interests and delivers a “systems-wide” understanding of satellite systems and their applications, from the space segment, to the ground operations, and the end users. The resulting two-year masters will produce a new cohort of “industry ready” graduates for Australia’s developing space industry. The first year of the masters will consist of eight core courses that will give students a solid basis in satellite systems, thus enabling them to choose areas of specialisation in the form of advanced electives in the second year. Extensive practical components will be embedded within the courses, and innovative teaching methods combining online and traditional content delivery will be harnessed to enhance the flexibility and effectiveness of the learning process.