The Smithsonian Institution and CBS Consumer Products have joined forces with NetDragon Websoft Holdings Limited for a unique adult education platform.

Named Learning for a Small World, the platform will launch with “Star Trek: Inspiring Culture and Technology,” a course that celebrates the Star Trek franchise and its global impact. The course will be taught by Dr. Margaret Weitekamp, a curator at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, and Scott Mantz, a former anchor on Access Hollywood.

“NetDragon is committed to innovation in the field of online learning,” says Dr. Simon Leung, vice chairman and executive director, NetDragonr. “We believe Learning for a Small World fills an important niche in our learning product portfolio. Online learning communities are central to our strategy and form a core component of the new online learning platform.”

“Star Trek: Inspiring Culture and Technology” will explore the technology and social issues the franchise has explored including runaway artificial intelligence, eugenics, discrimination and racial tensions and examinations of the nature of perception and what it means to be human. The course will also cover how the show, and its fans, reflected the times they were created in.