The first group of Polish master’s graduates will start on 1 April 2024 a prestigious two-year internship at European Space Agency (ESA) centres in the Netherlands, Spain, France, and Germany.

Thanks to an agreement signed last year between the Ministry of Development and Technology and the European Space Agency and the coordination work of the Polish Space Agency, 14 Polish Master’s graduates will start their internships at the ESA on 1 April this year. This is the first recruitment to the National Trainee Programme within the European Space Agency.

“The Polish space sector is developing very dynamically and will undoubtedly generate an increasing demand for qualified staff with a wealth of experience, including experience of working in international centres. Internships at the ESA will contribute to building a new generation of Polish specialists, who will build Polish space specialisations in the coming years. Supporting the development of human resources builds the potential and competitiveness of industrial and scientific institutions and contributes to the progress and development of the national economy”, emphasises Deputy Minister for Development and Technology Waldemar Sługocki.

As part of the National Trainee Programme (NTP) at the ESA, trainees will take part in the Agency’s key scientific and technological projects. They will gain valuable work experience in an international environment in areas such as systems engineering; assembly, integration and testing of the Lunar Gateway space station; construction of the Lunar surface analogue centre; mission control and support for manned space flight; and technologies related to Earth observation.

The two-year ESA internship will also enable participants to learn about the practical functioning of the ESA and acquire knowledge and skills that can then be used in the Polish space sector. 

Completed in March this year, the call represents the first of two calls to direct 30 candidates to two-year paid internships by 2025.

Adrian Andrzejewski