ESA sponsors Masters in Aeronautics and Space Technology
ESA, largely through the ISS Education Fund, is the main non-academic contributor and sponsor of a new European Master Course in Aeronautics and Space Technology (EuMAS). An initiative of the European Commission through the Erasmus Mundus programme, five European universities jointly offer a series of two-year master courses over a five-year period.
The five European aerospace universities participating are: the University of Pisa (Italy), the Technical University of Munich (Germany), the Politechnic University of Madrid (Spain), the École Nationale Supérieure de l'Aéronautique et de l'Espace (ENSAE-Supaero) of Toulouse (France), and Cranfield University (United Kingdom).
The course provides world-class education in the aerospace engineering field, preparing the students to start a successful professional activity as an Aerospace Engineer. Students may choose one of two parallel options, Aeronautical Engineering or Space Technology.
Through its ISS Utilisation Strategy and Education Office, ESA provides scholarships for European students, placement opportunities at ESA's research and technology centre (ESTEC) in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, and a series of lectures on human spaceflight and exploration by experts in the field.
Each course cycle will be hosted in turn by two of the partner universities. The students will spend the first year at one location, then move to another location for the second year. The 2005/6 edition of EuMAS, which is hosted by the University of Pisa and Supaero Toulouse, started at the beginning of the academic year.
