Abstract

The International Institute of Air and Space Law (“IIASL”) at Leiden University in the Netherlands has offered its Master of Advanced Studies in Air and Space Law since 2000. Each year, students from all over the world join this program and engage in an intense year of studies as a highly diverse group in terms of geography, gender, age and background. Legal and policy aspects of space resource utilization (“SRU”) forms a prominent part of the teaching program and is run during several consecutive days of teaching activities. After students receive an introductory overview of scientific aspects of SRU, an in-depth overview of relevant provisions of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty and the 1979 Moon Agreement is provided. The Hague International Space Resource Governance Working Group and the 20 ‘Building Blocks’ it adopted in November 2019 is also discussed. Finally, an interactive class exercise is held, whereby three groups of students debate several questions from different perspectives before reporting to the full class. Because students are encouraged to take on the perspectives of various stakeholders, interesting and original views are presented and offer a useful contribution to the international debate on SRU. In this paper, the staff and students of the IIASL explain and assess the interactive and multi-faceted educational method used. The student’s approaches to the questions are outlined and the outcome of their discussions are presented.