02 Dec 2013
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Research article
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Aerospace
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Life at ÉTS
The International Space University (ISU): It’s a School, a University, and an Institute… But What Is It All About?


Photo de l’ISU : protégé par des droits d’auteurs
Believe me, back in 1997, before I did my master’s at ISU, I asked myself the same question. To help you understand, here is some information explaining how this institute came to be and why its summer university program will be offered in Montreal in June 2014, hosted by École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS) and HEC Montréal.
The ISU boldly goes where no university has gone before – and that’s not surprising given its audacious roots. In 1986, the ISU’s three founders, Peter H. Diamandis and Todd B. Hawley, both American, and Robert D. Richards, a Canadian, called on several national space agency leaders and other well-known names to help them create an interdisciplinary, intercultural and international university. Those who were at this gathering can attest to how courageous these three young men (all under 30 years of age) were in meeting with these celebrities. While they managed to convince author Arthur C. Clark and Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison Schmitt, others didn’t bother staying until the end, annoyed at having been summoned for what they deemed was an absurd idea.

ISU founders in 1986. From left to right: Todd B. Hawley, Robert D. Richards and Peter Diamandis. Source: [Img1]
![Poster for the conference held during the founding of the International Space University in April 1987, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Source: [Img2]](https://substance.carrousel-staging.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/ISUed4.png)
Poster for the conference held during the founding of the International Space University in April 1987, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Source: [Img2]

ISU facilities located in Strasbourg, France. Source: [Img3]
The city of Montreal, in collaboration with the Canadian Space Agency and industry players, had also made a bid but was not selected. After the SSP, the ISU launched a second program, enabling it to develop partnerships with more than 12 universities around the world that would later become affiliated campuses. These partners offered research activities in the seven disciplines taught at the ISU: humanities, engineering, physical sciences, policy and law, space applications, life sciences, and business and management. In 1990, Montreal once again tried its luck to host the Summer Session Program; it lost out to Toronto.
Throughout the years, the ISU has continuously adapted its course offerings in order to meet the needs of the sector. But it has never lost sight of its main purpose: to be an avant-garde institute that offers international, interdisciplinary and intercultural (the three “i”s) educational programs. Today, its 3,700 graduates from over 100 countries are ambassadors, forming a network within political and industrial space communities. Since the end of the cold war, the aerospace sector has seen the funding of its projects evolve, with more and more partnerships being formed between the public and private sectors, and with space applications being developed for civil and military uses. The first commercial suborbital flights will be available soon, though there have already been space tourists who have funded the launching of rockets into space.
What does the future hold? The ISU is often a platform for ideation, where projects that may seem extravagant at first ultimately see the light of day. This characteristic, consisting of bringing together individuals from all disciplines and from different parts of the world, has been proven time and time again, and is the reason behind the university’s success, which today boasts five programs including an Executive MBA and a professional development program.
Now, it’s Montreal’s turn to host the SSP, following Toronto in 1990 and Vancouver in 2005. HEC Montréal and ÉTS are proud to lead this project which will benefit both institutes, the city, higher learning establishments and the industrial framework of the aerospace sector.

Home countries of the ISU’s 3,700 graduates. Source: [Img4]

Éric Doré
Éric Doré is the Director of Student Services at the École polytechnique de Montréal. He was Head of Student Recruitment & International Mobility at ÉTS from 2010 to 2016.
