Networking/Partnering Initiative FAQs for students

When is the next selection board ?

Selection Boards take place twice in a year, usually in June and November. Selection file has to be ready and processed at ESA level two weeks in advance to the selection board.

When would a selected student be able to start? 

Once a NPI activity has been selected by the board, a contract will have to be signed between ESA and the co-funding university; experience shows that six months are usually necessary for the negotiation process to take place and before the student is definitely enrolled in the programme. 

Is there a list of topics maintained by ESA where we can choose a subject for a PhD or a post-doc ?

ESA does not keep such a list. It is up to the student to come up with a topic, with their university and industrial support.

Would there be any restrictions on nationality of a student? 

The student will be employed by the University; no restriction applies. 

How important is the availability of a PhD candidate during the proposal phase? Is this a necessary condition for the submission of the proposal?

The selected candidate is supposed to start working on his PhD or post-doc only once the activity has been selected by the board and the contract signed between all parties concerned.

Is there any restriction on who we can work with at ESA? 

Unless an ESA engineer is already identified, the application will be submitted to an ESTEC engineer to assess feasibility in the specific technical domain as potential Tutor/Technical Officer.

Is the NPI more interested in funding studies into future missions or exploiting current (or indeed past) space missions? 

The purpose of the NPI scheme is to foster relation with universities on innovative activities to be applied to future missions. To be successful, the application file will have to demonstrate that the NPI activity brings improvement to the state of the art in a specific technical domain. 

Our PhDs cost approximately 30,000 euro per year.  Do we need to provide matching funding in this case, or would it be possible to request ESA to fund the entire studentship (up to 30,000 euros per year for three years)?

Co-funding means that the university commits to fund 50% or less of the cost.