SCIENCE SCIENCE-FICTION: An Optional Subject at 'E. T. S. I. Aeronauticos'

摘要

"Innovative engineers can certainly take a dream or an imaginative idea and bring it to reality." (Dr. David Raitt Senior Technology Transfer Officer, ESA). As it was shown in Bremen past October 2003 dialogue between science and fiction does indeed exist, and from the idea of a Science-Fiction optional subject we can get a high profit. Since it was proposed in 2002 from two professors of the Applied Mathematics and Statistics Department the optional subject "Science and Science-Fiction" promotes creativity and innovative ideas in aerospace engineering students. In Spain, "Escuela Tecnica Superior de Ingenieros Aeronauticos" offers a five year course in aeronautical engineering which capability to design and develop space systems. The course is made up of 4000 hours of teaching, 400 hours devoted to optional courses. Among the optional courses offered there is one entitled "Science and Science-Fiction". This is a course of 80 hours organised around a collection of science-fiction movies, with related conferences on the issues raised by the movies and a written assignment. The objective of the paper is to share this new and original idea with the space education community. Antecedents, contents of first (2002-03) and second course (2003-04), and future perspectives are analysed.