In-follow up to the series of three UN/Austria/ESA Symposiums on Small Satellite Programmes for Sustainable Development, held in Graz, Austria, from 2009 to 2011, the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs will organize International Symposiums on Basic Space Technology Development in the regions that correspond to the United Nations Economic Commissions for Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Western Asia, starting in 2012.
The first Symposium was held as the United Nations/Japan Nano-Satellite Symposium, hosted by the University of Tokyo and co-hosted by the University Space Engineering Consortium (UNISEC) and held in Nagoya, Japan, in conjunction with the Japan Aerospace 2012, from 10-13 October 2012. The present Symposium for the Western Asia region will be hosted by the Emirates Institution for Advanced Science and Technology (EIAST) at the Zayed University Conference Center in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from 20-23 October 2013.
The Symposium objectives will build on the outcomes of the aforementioned BSTI Symposiums held from 2009 to 2012. The relevant symposium reports, containing the objectives, symposium summaries and observations and recommendations made by participants, are available from http://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/SAP/bsti/fundamentals.html.
The objectives of the UN/UAE Symposium will be to:
The Symposium programme will be structured around a series of topical sessions. Presentations will be solicited through a Call for Papers. In addition, renowned experts in the field will be invited to make some of the presentations. Working Groups will be established to consider specific topics and to discuss observations and recommendations on the basis of which a United Nations General Assembly report will be prepared for the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. Appropriate time will be set aside for discussions and for short presentations by participants on their own relevant activities.
The following topics will be considered in dedicated sessions:
This session will discuss the latest developments in the field of space technology development capacity building. This will include presentations on various institutions and their experiences with establishing small satellite programmes. Opportunities for international and regional cooperation will also be considered.
This session will look at the requirements for development and (environmental) testing facilities for basic space technology development. Experiences with the establishment of such facilities in universities and research institutions will be shared.
Over the last few years' affordable small satellite platforms have been developed, capable of delivering medium- to high-resolution imagery for a wide range of geospatial applications. This session will review the latest developments in the field.
Regulatory and legal considerations play an important role in the implementation of small satellite programmes. The session will include discussions on the allocation and registration of frequencies with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the registration of satellites with the United Nations, launching State liabilities, space debris mitigation guidelines and import/export controls.
In follow up to its first meeting held at the BSTI Symposium in 2012, this session will re-convene the International Panel of Experts for the development of the Education Curriculum on Space Engineering. For details see http://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/SAP/bsti/bsti-education/ecse.html.
This session will be dedicated to discussing the Symposium observations and recommendations.
The sessions may be supplemented by a poster session, demonstrations of relevant software tools, technical visits and by practical hands-on exercises. The co-sponsors will also organize an attractive programme of side-events for all Symposium participants. The detailed Symposium programme will be posted here in due course.
The Symposium will be held at the Zayed University Conference Center situated at Dubai Academic City.
Those interested in participating in the Symposiums are requested to submit an application using the online application form. Alternatively, the fully completed application form (.pdf, .doc) and all other required documents shall be scanned and submitted in electronic format (.doc or .pdf) by email to the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (unpsa@unoosa.org).
Within the limited financial resources available to the co-sponsors, qualified applicants who express the need for assistance will be offered financial support to attend the Symposium. This may include the provision of a round-trip air ticket between Dubai and the applicant's international airport of departure and daily subsistence allowances to cover board and lodging for the duration of the Symposium. En-route expenses or any changes made to the air ticket must be borne by the participants. Preference will be given to qualified applicants from developing countries and to qualified applicants whose nominating institutions will cover the cost of travel to/from Dubai.
In exceptional cases where applicants do not have access to electronic mail, the completed application may also be sent by postal mail or forwarded through the Office of the Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in the applicant's country to the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, Vienna International Centre, P.O. Box 500, 1400 Vienna, Austria.
Applications must be received by the Office for Outer Space Affairs at the latest by Sunday, 30 June 2013. Only complete applications with all the requested information and signatures will be considered.
This page was last updated on 20 March 2013.