China promotes international education in space science and technology
At the 4th meeting of the Council of the Regional Center for Space Science and Technology Education in the Asia-Pacific Region (China) affiliated with the United Nations Organization Wu Yanhua, Deputy Head of the China National Space Administration, said that China would cooperate with the international community in promotion of space science and technology education to contribute to economic and social development of the Asia-Pacific Region.
As an initiating and host country, China will cooperate with other member states to foster mutually beneficial cooperation in space science and technology education.
The participants exchanged opinions on how to foster economic and social development of the Asia-Pacific Region through cooperation and staff training in space industry. Luc St-Pierre, Chief of the Space Applications Section at the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, highly appreciated the contribution of this regional center to peaceful uses of outer space for the benefit of mankind and development of space science and technology in the Asia-Pacific Region. The center, founded in 2014 and headquartered at Beihang University, comprises ten state members, including Algeria, Argentina, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, China, Indonesia, Pakistan, Peru, and Venezuela. Over the last five years the center has trained 237 Master's and doctoral students from 24 developing countries in such areas as remote sensing and the geographic information system, satellite communication, the global navigation satellite system, small satellite technologies, and the field of space law and space policy. The center also organized over 20 short-term courses that enrolled about 1,000 employees from 64 countries. It proposed a number of projects for international cooperation in space industry such as creation of a multi-purpose constellation of small satellites. Xu Huibin, Rector of Beihang University, said that the university was striving to turn the center into an internationally recognized educational institution and a key platform for global exchange and cooperation in space science and technology.