The Global Space Innovation Conference (GLIC) 2015, which was held in Munich between 23rd and 25th June 2015, was preceded by an “unconference” based on the Space Up template – Space UP GLIC.
This template means, that the “participants decide the topics, schedule, and structure of the event”, which in this instance was themed around Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the Space Sector. We aimed quite high; for instance, one of the (preparatory) questions from Twitter reads:
The day was mainly filled with short presentations from a variety of speakers presenting on topics ranging from protection against Near Earth objects (NEOs):
to dancing in zero gravity:
I also added my ramblings to the mix; I ended up wrapping up the presentations section with my talk “It IS Rocket Science!” about studying innovation, New Product Development (NPD) and networks in the Space Industry:
This was followed by some debate time drawing on two key questions: What is innovation? and Does investment stimulate innovation or vice versa?
The outcomes of this discussion and a summary of our contributions was also presented at the close of the “main” conference, including a video vlog of the day:
For my part, on top of being introduced to a variety of interesting ideas and projects, I was also introduced to so many exciting and very talented people, all passionate about space and ready to actively participate in the future of Space exploration. That in itself made this event the place to be for any budding Space enthusiast and I am looking forward to meet my new friends again, as soon as might be.
Perhaps, we might even get SpaceUp to Scotland some time soon…
Space Innovation: Discovering the Future 