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14/10/2026 In Skills, Space Park news

Time is running out to sign up for NASA-proven leadership training at Space Park Leicester

Professionals who want to learn about opportunities in the space sector and develop the leadership skills needed to build high-performing teams have only a few weeks left to sign up for NASA-proven training at Space Park Leicester.

The University of Leicester’s £100m space research, innovation and teaching hub has joined forces with Australian innovation consultancy Crazy Might Work to deliver the NASA 4-D Executive Space Programme.

It features two world-class executive courses – the two-day NASA 4-D Leadership programme delivered by Crazy Might Work and Space Park Leicester’s three-day Executive Guide To Space course.

The NASA 4-D Leadership programme has won international acclaim within the space industry and been completed by 1,500 NASA teams while The Executive Guide To Space course explores the technical elements of what it takes to conceive, design, build, launch and operate a successful space mission.

BOOK EARLY-BIRD

Participants can attend either programme individually or combine the two for a five-day executive experience designed to develop leadership capability and a deeper understanding of one of the world’s most innovative and fast-moving sectors. The programme will take place from Monday, November 9, to Friday, November 13, but prospective attendees only have until Monday, October 26, to secure a place at the reduced early-bird pricing.

Paul Hawkins
Lead facilitator of the programme, Paul Hawkins, of Crazy Might Work, said: “Space was once viewed primarily as the domain of national governments, major aerospace companies and a relatively small scientific community. But today, lower launch costs, smaller satellites, commercial investment, artificial intelligence and advances in sensing and computing are opening it up to new participants and new business models.

“The rapidly growing industry requires a full range of skills, like that of any other – marketing, project management, change leadership, administration, customer service, sales, engineering and a host of other professions that we don’t necessarily equate with space.

“For executives, space is an unusually rich environment in which technologies and markets are changing rapidly, so leaders must hold a long-term mission while continually adapting the route used to reach it and taking their people with them on the journey. That calls for an exceptional combined skill set of leadership fundamentals and technology savviness, which is what this programme delivers.”

The programme is designed for individuals with technical backgrounds who are moving, or planning to move, into the space sector; organisations moving into the space sector; people who require rapid upskilling in certain roles such as Systems Engineering and Spacecraft Operations and individuals in supporting roles such as Marketing.

Paul added: “Even when organisations have no intention of entering the space sector, the leadership lessons in this programme remain highly transferable.

“Most executives are trying to coordinate specialists, make decisions with incomplete information, manage interdependence, innovate within constraints and mobilise people around objectives that cannot be achieved by one function acting alone.

“Space provides a series of mental models that make these challenges more visible, reminding us that extraordinary performance is rarely the product of a lone heroic leader. Missions succeed through teams, systems, shared purpose and thousands of agreements honoured over time. If leadership depended entirely on personal charisma, it would not survive the rigours of space. NASA’s experience suggests something more useful: leaders become exponentially more effective when they acquire the ability to change context, rather than simply adapt within it.”

For further information and to book a place, visit www.space-park.co.uk/space-cpd.

To explore Space Park Leicester partnerships, missions, residents, facilities, training programmes and innovation products, visit space-park.co.uk or to learn more about the University of Leicester visit le.ac.uk/.

Main image: CPD learners at Space Park Leicester

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