• working alongside the Cabinet of the Director General on developing the Agency’s relations with the parliaments of Member States, including advice on the European Interparliamentary Space Conference (EISC), as well as the International Astronautical Federation’s activities addressing Members of Parliament;
• Provide support on European policy matters and relations at the European level;
• preparing analyses on political issues and developments relevant to the Agency;
• leading projects, incorporating the appropriate internal units, that are of political relevance to the Agency.

Candidates interested are encouraged to visit the ESA website: http://www.esa.int.

Field(s) of activity for the internship

The topic of the internship: Supporting the activities of the 50th Anniversary of the ESA Convention

The Special Advisor for Political Affairs was tasked together with a small project team by the Director General to prepare and conduct the 50th Anniversary of the ESA Convention, which was signed on 30 May 1975. The Anniversary will comprise numerous events in ESA Establishments and Member States as well as cross-sectorial activities in the fields of history, education, and outreach. The kick-off for the preparatory activities happened at ESA Council in June 2024. Activities in the framework of the 50th Anniversary celebrations will take place throughout the year with a main focus on events in the first half of the year and additional activities and communications efforts in the second half of the year. This will be given presenting the results from the first half of the year to the Council at the Ministerial level in November 2025.

Your activities will comprise the support of the project team in the second phase of the Anniversary project (3rd quarter of 2025). It will encompass the support of the activities as the preparation and conduct of dedicated workshops but mostly to support the translation of the results from the first half of the year events into policy-oriented communications given to the Council at the Ministerial level.

Your learning areas will on the one hand be a deep dive into the history, the present, and the future of ESA and European space activities, learning about the key themes of Europe in space and interconnecting this with the political relevance of space in Europe. On the other hand, you will learn to work in a project-oriented way with a multitude of contacts internally and externally of the Agency. The internship will thus lead to a thorough understanding of ESA as an institution and space as an important policy area for Europe.

Required Qualifications 

You must be a university student, preferably in your final or second-to-last year of a university course at the Master’s level and you need to remain enrolled at your University for the entire duration of the internship.

Additional requirements

The working languages of the Agency are English and French. A good knowledge of one of these is required. Knowledge of another Member State language would be an asset.

Knowledge and background in the history of ESA and European space policy is an asset.