with a trip to visit NASA awaiting you, if you stand first in class!
The big daddy of Space-anything, the Amirkhan National Aeronautics and Space Administration [NASA] has decided to lend its name, resources & personnel for a tailor-made course in System Engineering. Prospective students can sign up for this first-of-its-kind offering, completely free of cost,
"The Space Systems Engineering MOOC, the result of a months-long collaboration between the non-profit Saylor Foundation, Washington, D.C., and personnel from NASA, examines basic systems engineering and teamwork as well as project life cycle, scoping, requirements, and trade studies. Saylor Foundation staff contributed technical, audio-video, and instructional design support, while course content consists of existing and augmented NASA materials.
Video lectures from personnel supporting the James Webb Space Telescope and the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite missions at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., form the backbone of the lessons. NASA project manager Jeff Volosin, NASA mission systems engineer Mike Menzel, and Nobel laureate Dr. John C. Mather will provide the lectures."
Such democratisation in the impartment of knowledge & convenient, effortless interaction with some of the brightest minds in this field could only have been made possible by the wondrous nature of the Internet, which would serve as sole medium for taking this 6-weeks course,
"Each week, registered students will receive an email detailing their assignments, questions for discussion, and opportunities to interact with one another and course designers, including NASA staff, through discussion forums."
Students successfully completing this course would be be awarded a merit Certificate, to flaunt your accomplishment. It, however, does not necessarily stop here. You could, subsequently, choose to undertake a Project. Student, whose project they judge as best, would then be invited to visit NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. Not a bad deal, at all.
The course starts on March 3, 2014. One could sign up for it here.
Godspeed
Also Read: Google-powered Educational Courseware [Google University]