Raising standards: 30 University students attended ESA Academy's Standardization Training Course 2022
In brief
Thirty university students with an engineering and science background from 13 different ESA Member States, Canada, and Slovenia, have successfully completed ESA Academy's Standardization Training Course 2022. Running from 21 – 24 June 2022 and hosted in the Training and Learning Facility, ESEC-Galaxia, Belgium, the training course was a collaboration between ESA's Education Office and Requirements, Standards, and Engineering Knowledge Office.
In-depth
The core intent of the training course was to introduce students to the European Cooperation for Space Standardization (ECSS) and to explore how the standards within the ECSS system are applied to space-related disciplines. The ECSS provides a coherent, single set of standards made applicable by ESA in space-related projects and business agreements. They are crucial to the sector as they form an essential tool to facilitate work between Space Agencies and industry. Despite the importance of standardization, the ECSS standards are not usually taught at universities, leading to a gap between students' education and the knowledge they need for a career. The Online Standardization Training Course 2022 bridges this gap. A German student from the Technical University of Munich said, "As a student with little background knowledge of satellite technology and standards for the space industry, the ESA Academy's Standardization Training Course was a valuable and interesting training that I can highly recommend. The ESA experts explained very well the significance and content of the ECSS standards and the important aspects when using them in each discipline."
The students began with an overview of the ECSS system, focusing on the challenges related to space technology compared to terrestrial applications and the key concepts from top disciplines. This session was followed by an exploration of the applicable standards, why they are essential, and how to apply them to several disciplines throughout the space mission cycle:
- Project Management
- Mechanisms
- Product Assurance and Quality Assessment
- Structures
- Control Engineering
- Communications Protocols
- Electrical Engineering
- Thermal Engineering
- Ground Systems and Operations
- Software Engineering and Software Product Assurance
- System Engineering
The course trainers used examples, exercises, and personal experience to demonstrate the importance of the standards, explaining when and how they use them. A Latvian student from Ventspils University of Applied Sciences said, "The course gave a great perspective on all the process that goes into making a spacecraft as well as insight into how to use ECSS standards to tailor project requirements for specific needs. Besides that, I enjoyed the atmosphere and company of talented professionals from around Europe."
On the final day, the students were evaluated through an online evaluation questionnaire to obtain a grade for their course transcript. With this document and their certificates of participation, the students can claim ECTS credit(s) from their respective universities.
"The Standardization Training Course was a fantastic opportunity to learn about spacecraft design and to interact directly with ESA experts," said an Italian student from Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina." The lessons go far beyond what is seen at university, and whether you already have experience with spacecraft design or not, this training course is strongly recommended!"
To find more information about upcoming and future ESA Academy training opportunities, please check the current opportunities page.
Contact: tlp@esa.int