Intern in the Education Office

Our team and mission

The ESA Education Office has the objective to use space as a theme to enhance the literacy of young people in science and technology and to motivate young Europeans to pursue a space related career. 

In support of the educational objectives, the Office offers:

• Classroom resources that can be used by teachers and students of STEM subjects
• Classroom projects and competitions
• An ‘ESA Academy’ programme to support university students in their studies
• Teacher training courses that use space as a context to enhance the teaching of STEM subjects. As part of the STEM programme for primary and secondary school teachers, the e-technology lab, a didactic laboratory, offers direct hands-on experience by using space robotics and space science as learning and teaching contexts.

Location: The internship will take place at ESTEC (Noordwijk, Netherlands) or at ESEC (Belgium) 

For further information visit our web site: http://www.esa.int

Field(s) of activity for the internship

You can choose between the following topics:

1) Topic 1: Educational research and data analysis internship

As an intern, you will perform several analyses:

ESA Member and Associate States curriculum mapping: You will research the different characteristics of different participating countries’ curriculums and analyze the commonalities and differences.
Education trends analysis: You will research the present and future educational trends by reviewing education literature and will make a summary of those that could be applied and/or implemented in the STEM Education portfolio of activities.
Statistical analysis of participation: You will analyze given datasets in order to identify the reasons for certain trends in participation/social media views and assess the impact trends of certain activities of the ESA Education STEM portfolio.

2) Topic 2: Education outreach and social media intern

As an intern, you will assist in the outreach and external communication of ESA Education’s programmes. The tasks will include:

Assisting in creation/execution of outreach materials: Providing graphical support for events (ex. Event certificates, programme/event logos, video & image editing) and providing publishing support for the Education/ESA Kids websites (articles, images, competitions, etc).
Supporting ESA Kids & Education social media channels (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube): Assisting in maintaining social media publishing schedules and creating posts and monitor reactions and/or comments.
Providing outreach logistics support: Monitoring and follow-up on shipment of materials.

3) Topic 3: Space Technology didactics internship at the e-Technology Lab

As an intern, you will assist in development of technology-related experiments for training programmes. 

Learning areas: STEM education, computer programming (Python, C++), electronics, 3D design and 3D printing

Behavioural competencies

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

Education

You must be studying for a Master’s degree, preferably in the final or second-to-last year of University, and you need to remain 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 Member State language would be an asset.

Educational knowledge:

1) Topic 1: Knowledge of and experience in the following is a major asset: Educational research, data analysis and statical tools (e.g. Excel).

2) Topic 2: Knowledge of and experience in the following is a major asset: Adobe Creative Suite (PhotoShop, InDesign, Illustrator, Rush) and major social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok).

3) Topic 3: You should be enrolled in a STEM course at university level, have a background in and willingness to develop programming skills and software knowledge and have an interest and/or experience in education. Knowledge and background in Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence would be an asset.