Applications open for the Technology Transfer, Application & Innovation Workshop 2024
Are you a highly motivated university student in engineering, science, sociology, industrial design or business administration with a keen interest in technology and innovation? The ESA Education Office is looking for university students to participate in the third edition of the ESA Academy’s Technology Transfer, Application & Innovation Workshop. Developed in close collaboration with the ESA Commercialisation Department, the workshop will be held this year at the ESA Academy’s Training & Learning Facility in ESEC-Galaxia, Transinne, Belgium, from 23 to 26 January 2024.
Technologies and satellite systems developed by the space industry help our everyday lives on Earth. Satellite system contribute widely to well-known area such as Communication, Navigation and Search and Rescue. Nevertheless, space technologies can also serve other innovative purposes, one can mention as example health care improvement, multimodal transportation, water recovery, waste management, sports, risk management and other downstream applications. The commercialisation of space technologies and its applications need people with creative flair, vision and business acumen, skills that this workshop aims to develop.
Delivered by ESA specialists and external experts from start-ups and industry, participants will be exposed to the near-infinite possibilities of technology transfer and application in their essential role of innovation. There are many challenging opportunities for entrepreneurs willing to developing new products and services!
During the workshop, participating students will learn about different disciplines within the field of Technology Transfer, Application & Innovation, including patenting, entrepreneurship, and business incubation. This is not only a theoretical course however, as focus will be also given to practical experiences. Group assignments will see students taking a real ESA patent and brainstorming potential application ideas and developing a business model around it. At the end of the week, students will follow in the footsteps of real entrepreneurs by pitching their ideas.
Draft schedule
| Day 1 | Introduction to ESA and the Commercialisation department Fundamentals on Patenting an Invention and Introduction to an ESA Invention Dissecting an ESA Invention Tips & Tricks for Idea Generation Group Project 1 : Technology Transfer: From Fiction to Reality |
| Day 2 | Commercialisation of Technology and Data Beyond Space Practical Case Study - Refine your idea ESA & ESA Education programme Group Project 2 : From Patent to Application |
| Day 3 | Introduction to Entrepreneurship and Business Incubation New Venturing Creation Space Tech Start-Up – the Case of SkyfloX Group Project 3 : From Application to Business Group Project 4.1 : Group Project Finalisation |
| Day 4 | Visit of ESEC-Redu Group Project 4.2 : Group Project Finalisation Final presentations Group Project wrap-up and Conclusion |
Who can apply?
For the third edition of this workshop, ESA invites business, engineering, science, sociology and industrial design students to work together on different group assignments and complement each other’s knowledge.
In order to participate, students must fulfil the following criteria at the time of application:
- be aged minimum 18 years old. ESA Academy and relevant partners will only appraise applications from students who have no- or limited- professional experience in relevant engineering, business or space-related topics;
- be a citizen of an ESA Member State, Canada, Latvia, Lithuania or Slovenia;
- be studying for an engineering or science degree at Bachelor (at least 3rd year), Master, or PhD level or for a business administration degree at Master or PhD level;
- Students that will graduate before the Workshop and will not continue their studies are not eligible;
Students enrolled in a scientific degree should have a clear focus on applied sciences. Selected students will be expected to attend all 4 days of the course.
How to apply
- Fill in the application form;
- Upload a motivation letter (PDF, maximum 1 page, no images);
- Upload a CV (PDF, Europass format, no images, maximum 2 pages);
- Upload a formal recommendation letter (PDF, maximum 1 page, including signature, no images) from a university professor or academic supervisor of current university (if not possible due to the current confinement situation in your country, please ask a university professor or an academic supervisor to send a recommendation email to tlp@esa.int);
- Upload a copy of your Transcript of Grades from the two previous semesters, or, if not available, the previous graded academic year (PDF).
All answers and documents should be in English (Transcript of Grades can be submitted in language of hosting university, if unavailable in English).*Canadian students enrolled in a Canadian post-secondary institution may apply for additional support from the Canadian Space Agency through this Announcement of Opportunity (grant applications must be submitted at least 7 weeks before the course delivery and account creation 3 weeks before the deadline). This additional support is to cover costs that are not already covered by ESA for selected Canadian post-secondary students.
The deadline for applications is 11 December 2023 23:59 CET.
For more information, please contact tlp@esa.int.