Our team and mission

Under the direct authority of the Head of the ESA Education Office, the objective of the ESA Education Programme is to use space as a theme to enhance the literacy and competencies of young European people (from primary to PhD levels) in science and technology and to motivate them to pursue a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) career, related to space in particular. 

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. The activities for this target group are divided into two activity blocks, often interlinked with each other:

• Learn with Space: A vast portfolio of initiatives to support educators from formal and non-formal educational settings. The target group ranges from young children to those at upper secondary school level. The activities within the portfolio consist primarily of professional educator training, didactic resources, interdisciplinary school projects, thematic workshops and hackathons, and an international community of practice, all connecting national and international dimensions by building on the best from both experiences to boost STEM education as a whole. 
• Let Space Inspire You: A wide variety of inspirational and engaging events, role modelling, career awareness-raising initiatives and access to space experts for young people and their families so that they can share in the fascination with and importance of space and STEM and, in so doing, help to break down diversity barriers, boost accessibility and promote sustainability for a better future.

These activities are run by ESA together with the ESERO framework (www.esa.int/esero), a network of dedicated national offices and consortiums of partners established by ESA in its Member States.

2. The ESA Academy programme for the education and engagement of people aged 18 and above, up to early career level. The activities for this target group are divided into three activity blocks, working in synergy with each other whenever possible:

• Space to Mind: An extended and diversified portfolio of training courses resulting in very useful, practical qualifications provided by professional experts, both online and onsite, and covering a large range of topics to complement academic curricula and better prepare participants, including participants from a non-space, non-STEM background as well as early-career professionals, for a space-related career. 
• Mind to Matter: New and updated projects using ground- and space-based experiment platforms, including CubeSats, to complement knowledge and offer hands-on experience in an international context through project-based learning, while adding new elements such as product development, entrepreneurship and innovation, and downstream applications.
• 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 competencies through joint training courses, challenges, projects, ESA scholarships and internships in industry.

You are encouraged to visit the ESA website: www.esa.int/ESA and the ESA Education webpages: www.esa.int/education 

Field(s) of activity/research for the traineeship

As a Young Graduate Trainee, you will contribute to the activities of the STEM Learning and Inspiration programme (early and school-age education), in particular in the framework of the Learn with Space range of activities described above.

Your traineeship will focus on the use of space-related topics and the actual practice of science for the development and delivery of early-age and school-level didactics activities. ESA space programmes produce a wealth of knowledge, data and expertise, which hold enormous potential for enhancing the teaching and learning of science and technology in Europe. 

In particular, you will:

• support the development and production of space-related teaching and learning resources for both curricular (school) and extracurricular settings (e.g. teacher/educator guides, lesson modules, experiment protocols and kits, accompanying multimedia, etc.) on STEM subjects (maths, physics, chemistry, programming, technology, sciences, physical geography, etc.), identifying existing resources that can be translated and/or updated;
• support the organisation and delivery of the ESA teacher/educator training activities (in-person workshops and training conferences and e-learning modules), including planning, content and props preparation and the  delivery of parts/modules of a course when required, and contribute to maintaining cooperation with external partners;
• interact with ESA space experts for scientific validation purposes and to identify content, opportunities and themes relevant for educational content;
• support the maintenance of the ESA classroom resources archive/inventory and the European curricular map;
• support the creation, maintenance and animation of the future ESA teacher/educator community of practice;
• contribute to the promotion of ESA’s education activities, for example by writing articles, etc.;
• support the other activities of the STEM Learning and Inspiration programme where needed.
   

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 scientific or technical discipline.

Additional requirements

Specific competences (additional studies/qualifications and/or experience) in one of the following disciplines shall be considered an asset: knowledge of computer programming; knowledge of Earth Sciences and use/processing of space Earth Observation data; STEM school pedagogy, didactics and teaching. 
You should have good interpersonal and communication skills and should be able to work in a multi-cultural 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.