Our team and mission

DG-OS is advising the ESA Director General (DG) on all aspects related to Space and Security including:

• contribution of space to mitigate security challenges on earth (the impact of Climate Change on land, sea and air and how this affects local populations including but not limited to human migration, human trafficking, illegal activities, border control, etc.);
• space in support of civil security crisis response;
• Space in support of EU autonomous Defence. 

Candidates interested are encouraged to visit the ESA website: http://www.esa.int

Field(s) of activity for the internship

You can choose between the following topics:

1) Topic 1: ESA Member States National security policy and capabilities’ review in support of DG-OS daily work as well as the EU security, defence and space evolution

Security from Space aims at defining space contributions to mitigate security challenges on Earth (the impact of Climate Change on land, sea and air and how this affects local populations including but not limited to human migration, human trafficking, illegal activities, border control, conflict areas, etc.). Space supports security crisis response. 

You will support the Office to:

• identify national policies of European states and their allies, the EU, as well as competitors regarding civil security/safety/protection;
• monitor existing national space capabilities and their link to security applications and if and how they can network together in support of the European Resilience from Space (ERS) programme and Rapid and Resilient Crisis Response Accelerator. This entails the identification of capability gaps. 

2) Topic 2: EU Space Act Monitoring/Adequacy with ESA Member States space regulations
The European Commission has released the European Space Act, a step towards rules harmonisation between member states and will have an impact on ESA policies and activities. Currently, 12 EU countries have their own national space laws, each with their specific scope, sophistication, and requirements, and the number could increase.
 

You will support the Office to:

• follow all development towards the final adoption and execution of the EU Space Act, examine potential security-related impacts and potential challenges with existing and coming national space laws as well as with relevant ESA internal regulations;
• analyse how the EU Act could affect the space and security industry as well as European and national security space programmes.

3) Topic 3: Space systems and Dual-Use: the case for ESA and commercial companies.
The commercial sector both in the US and in Europe is successfully developing solutions that were previously only pursued by government. This has led the US Space Force to work on fully integrating commercial solutions into the national security space architecture to maintain the US’s competitive advantage in the sector.

You will support the Office in investigating key questions, such as:

• how could ESA contribute to creating European commercial space champions in support of European space security and defence for Europe to leverage the use of commercial space solutions in a new “hybrid” architecture?;
• how could the US Space Force Commercial Space Strategy be translated into the European context?.

4) Topic 4: Coordination and Cooperation with partners

ESA has a long-standing relationship with EU partners in the field of security, and especially the European Defence Agency (EDA).

Under the close scrutiny of the Principal Security Strategy Officer, based in the ESA Brussels Office (EBO), you will:

• contribute to monitoring EDA’s space activities, and following and assessing opportunities for further dialogue and/or cooperation/coordination. Possibilities of cooperation can be examined with other European and non-European partners. 

Residency in the EBO, Brussels, Belgium may be necessary for effective Topic 4 task handling. 

Behavioural competencies

Result Orientation
Operational Efficiency
Fostering Cooperation
Relationship Management
Continuous Improvement
Forward Thinking

For more information, please refer to ESA Core Behavioural Competencies guidebook

Education

You must be a university student, preferably studying at master’s level. In addition, you must be able to prove that you will be enrolled at your University for the entire duration of the internship.

Additional requirements

The working languages of the Agency are English and French. A good knowledge of one of these is required. Knowledge of another ESA Member State language is an asset.

During the interview, your motivation for applying to this role will be explored.

Knowledge and background in Space, Security and Defence, EU institutions, Space Law is an asset.