Our team and mission

The ESA Academy, part of the ESA Education Office, is the Agency’s overarching programme for space projects and training opportunities for university students. Through a tailored transfer of space know-how and interaction with space professionals, the Academy takes students on a learning path that complements their academic education.

In accordance with the Space for Education 2030 vision approved by the ESA Member States in December 2022, the ESA Education Programme now has an expanded scope and a richer activity portfolio, structured into the following two main activity pillars:

1. The STEM Learning and Inspiration programme, the aim of which is to educate and inspire young people between 3 and 18 years of age, directly or through their educators.
2. The ESA Academy programme for the education and engagement of people aged 18 and above, up to early career level.

The activities for these target groups are divided into three activity blocks, working in synergy with each other whenever possible:

• Space to Mind: This will be an evolution of the current Training and Learning programme and will offer an extended and diversified portfolio of training sessions resulting in very useful, practical qualifications provided by professional experts, covering a large range of space-related topics. The aim is to complement academic curricula and better prepare participants for a space-related career.
• Mind to Matter: An evolution of the ”hands-on projects” initiative, this block consists of space-related projects using ground- and space-based experiment platforms, such as sounding rockets, parabolic flights, CubeSats and the International Space Station, to complement knowledge and offer hands-on experience in an international context through project-based learning.
• Space to Engage: New and structured collaboration models both within ESA and externally with academia, industry and institutions to make a shared contribution to the preparation of future talent in terms of knowledge, skills and competences through joint training courses, challenges, projects and ESA scholarships.

The ESA Education Office works in close cooperation with specialists from ESA and industry, university departments and other research organisations. ESA’s ESEC-Galaxia site in Belgium hosts several facilities tailored for the ESA Academy programme, including the CubeSat Support Facility, a cleanroom laboratory with integration and test equipment for CubeSats, and the Training and Learning Facility, a state-of-the art training room that is also equipped to support concurrent engineering workshops.

Information on the activities of the ESA Academy can be found at https://www.esa.int/Education/ESA_Academy. 
 

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

Field(s) of activity/research for the traineeship

The REXUS/BEXUS (Rocket/Balloon Experiments for University Students) programme allows students from universities and higher education institutes across Europe to carry out scientific and technological experiments on research rockets and balloons. Each year, two rockets and two balloons are launched, carrying up to 20 experiments designed and built by student teams.

As a Young Graduate Trainee, you will support the coordination of the hands-on project activities conducted by the university student teams participating in the REXUS/BEXUS programme. In close coordination with representatives of the programme partners (space agencies and centres, industry, launch providers), you will, under the guidance of your ESA mentor, support student teams developing experiments from selection (concept) onwards, throughout their design, fabrication, testing, launch and post-flight activities. 

Specific tasks will include: 

• periodic review of technical experiment (experiment design/operation) and project management documents;
• tracking teams’ technical progress between formal reviews;
• interfacing with ESA technical experts;
• assistance with the coordination of logistical arrangements for reviews, integration and test events, launch campaigns and workshops;
• ensuring an effective dissemination and utilisation of experiment results;
• direct support to teams and programme partners at project-related events, including launch campaigns, in the form of both hands-on support and delivery of presentations;
• contributing to the overall development and maintenance of the programme, including its website, social media and other outreach aspects;
• supporting the development of the programme schedule and maintaining key programme databases. 

You may also be involved in additional technical and managerial tasks to further develop the programme, as well as potentially contributing to other ESA Academy activities and projects as required.

Technical competencies

Behavioural competencies

Result Orientation

Operational Efficiency

Fostering Cooperation

Relationship Management

Continuous Improvement

Forward Thinking

Education

You should have just completed, or be in the final year of your Master’ s degree in a technical or scientific discipline.

Additional requirements

You should show a strong understanding of system engineering principles and practices and should have a good understanding of project/programme management. 
You should also be able to demonstrate excellent organisational and communication skills, the ability to follow multiple concurrent activities, and a proactive approach to programme coordination.
You should have good interpersonal and communication skills and should be able to work in a multicultural environment, both independently and as part of a team.
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.
During the interview, your motivation and overall professional career goals will also be explored.