Knowledge sharing in the field of space project management in the Czech Republic

Paper number

IAC-16,D5,IP,2,x35201

Coauthor

Mr. Michal Kunes, Czech Space Office, Czech Republic

Year

2016

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to introduce the current state of space project management and knowledge sharing in this area in the Czech Republic. History of Czech space industry dates back to 70s and Soviet space program Interkosmos. After the political changes in 1989, the Czech Republic established a cooperation with new partners and in 2008 joined the European Space Agency (ESA). ESA membership opened new opportunities for Czech academia and industry organisations, but on the other hand, it also meant that they had to learn new standards and processes.

The space project management required by ESA was new and difficult for most of the Czech space organisations. The author of this paper conducted an extensive analysis. The results showed that most of the involved Czech organisations consider project management as more difficult than a scientific and/or technical part of space projects. Despite the fact that almost two-thirds of the respondents admit that management education is important, most of them have no such education. Czech project managers therefore often lack managerial skills and other important soft skills. Another serious finding is that more than half of the respondents do not use any standards or methods for project management.

The Czech space industry is specific, there is a large amount of micro and small enterprises focused on market niches. Therefore, the internal knowledge sharing needs to be supported by the knowledge sharing among these enterprises, especially in the field of space project management. The Czech Space Office (CSO) is aware of this situation and makes this knowledge sharing easier by series of seminars with the networking opportunities, or by sharing knowledge of experienced project managers through short articles on the website and also in the upcoming publication.

Abstract document

IAC-16,D5,IP,2,x35201.brief.pdf

Manuscript document

(absent)