Development of a competence ecosystem for the future space workforce: strategies, practices and recommendations from international master programs in northern Sweden

Abstract

Requirements from the global labor market have substantially changed in recent years. Graduate and post-graduate students with excellent subject knowledge, deep understanding of modern working methods, technical and higher-order thinking, engineering intuition and problem-solving skills are in great demand. They should also have professional skills such as well-developed abilities in communication and teamwork, usually in an international work environment. This review discusses the advantages of multidisciplinary study environment, educational strategies such as student-oriented teaching, project-based learning with its applicability to a “real-world” setting, active learning techniques, development of entrepreneurial skills, lessons learned and best practices from the international Master Program in Spacecraft Design and the Joint Master Program in Space Science and Technology – SpaceMaster at Luleå University of Technology in northern Sweden. The importance of complementarity between formal, informal and non-formal learning methods for science and engineering students has been specifically highlighted. Connections to the world of work, through active industry involvement in the education in a systematic way, e.g. External Advisory Board, shared services and facilities, joint projects and supervision of Master and PhD students, is recognised as a key success factor for professional training. A structural combination of modern pedagogical tools, strategic partnership with industry, business entities, academic partners and up-to-date multidisciplinary labs creates the conceptual framework for a Competence Ecosystem for fostering a new generation of space scientists and engineers.