Intern in the Science Division

Internship Opportunity in the Directorate of Science.

ESA is an equal opportunity employer, committed to achieving diversity within the workforce and creating an inclusive working environment. We therefore welcome applications from all qualified candidates irrespective of gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, beliefs, age, disability or other characteristics. Applications from women are encouraged.

Location Madrid

Our team and mission

This position is based at the European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC) - Near Madrid, Spain

Under the direct authority of the Director of Science, the Science and Operations Department is responsible for ensuring that maximum scientific return, within applicable constraints, is maintained as an objective for the Directorate’s missions through their lifetime, by providing scientific oversight of the Directorate’s missions throughout their lifecycle, managing and being responsible for the operation of the Directorate’s missions once successfully commissioned, and curating the scientific data in their legacy phase, while establishing and maintaining the necessary science interfaces to the community. These responsibilities are discharged in full coordination with the Directorate’s Departments and Offices and, as appropriate, with the Directorate of Operations.

In implementing its duties, the Science and Operations Department is supported by the:

• Science Division
• Mission Operations Division
• Science Operations Development Division
• Data Science and Archive Division
• Mission Support Office

  For further information visit our web site: http://www.esa.int

  Field(s) of activity for the internship

  You can choose between the following topics:

  1) Topic 1: Continuous design of Multimedia, Web and Social Media contents for CESAR

  CesaR (Cooperation through Education in Science and Astronomy Research) is a joint educational programme developed by the European Space Agency (ESA), the Spanish National Institute for Aerospace Technology (INTA) and the public company ISDEFE. It is based at ESA’s European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC) in Villanueva de la Cañada, Madrid, Spain. Its main goal is to provide students and teachers from European schools with hands-on educational materials and resources about Astrophysics and Space Sciences, to be carried out in the classroom, as well as easy access to ESA´s data archive and to optical and radio telescopes.

  This internship aims at designing and creating new multimedia contents for the CESAR educational resources, to make them more engaging and attractive for young audiences. Also, to share them with national and international teachers through our teacher trainings. Regarding web and social media content, a yearly strategy needs to be developed to identify the most relevant moments for content sharing, given the different events organized by the project throughout the year. Aside from creation of audiovisual materials, analysis and monitoring of the impact of these will be also an important task for this internship.

  For more information on this topic, please visit: Continuous design of Multimedia, Web and Social Media contents for CESAR

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  2) Topic 2: Digital transformation of the CESAR Space Science Experiences - II

  CesaR (Cooperation through Education in Science and Astronomy Research) is a joint educational programme developed by the European Space Agency (ESA), the Spanish National Institute for Aerospace Technology (INTA) and the public company ISDEFE. It is based at ESA’s European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC) in Villanueva de la Cañada, Madrid, Spain. Its main goal is to provide students and teachers from European schools with hands-on educational materials and resources about Astrophysics and Space Sciences, to be carried out in the classroom, as well as easy access to ESA´s data archive and to optical and radio telescopes.

  The CESAR Team is undergoing a continuous process of transformation of its digital educational materials, currently hosted in the project´s website, adapting them to new formats which are more engaging for the students, such as online labs, VR applications and e-learning platforms. In this context, we follow the principles and guidelines already established by our colleagues from ESA Education, with whom the CESAR team is in regular contact.

  The update of the materials pursues a second goal: to ensure they are accessible, inclusive, and diverse. A revision of all these aspects started already in 2023 and will be continued in 2024. This internship will have a dual dimension, working toward the transformation of the educational resources and their revision from an inclusion perspective.

  For more information on this topic, please visit: Digital transformation of the CESAR Space Science Experiences - II

  📚 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗮 𝗝𝗼𝗯 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗡 𝗶𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯! 🌍🤝 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗿𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗡 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗨𝗡𝗛𝗖𝗥, 𝗪𝗙𝗣, 𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗖𝗘𝗙, 𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗦𝗦, 𝗨𝗡𝗙𝗣𝗔, 𝗜𝗢𝗠 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀! 🌐

  ⚠️ 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐍𝐨𝐰: 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐚 𝐣𝐨𝐛 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐍𝐎𝐖!

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  3) Topic 3: Support of Remote Operations of CESAR Solar and Night-Sky Telescopes

  CesaR (Cooperation through Education in Science and Astronomy Research) is a joint educational programme developed by the European Space Agency (ESA), the Spanish National Institute for Aerospace Technology (INTA) and the public company ISDEFE. It is based at ESA’s European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC) in Villanueva de la Cañada, Madrid, Spain. Its main goal is to provide students and teachers from European schools with hands-on educational materials and resources about Astrophysics and Space Sciences, to be carried out in the classroom, as well as easy access to ESA´s data archive and to optical and radio telescopes. During 2023, the CESAR Solar Observatory has been put in remote operation mode, allowing daily images of the Sun to be obtained in a semi-automatic way and stored in our public data base, so it can be easily shared with schools participating of the CESAR Space Science Experiences. The next step for the Solar Observatory is to improve the correct and automated process of the data, developing a pipeline for this purpose in Python.

  On the other hand, also in 2023, a detail status check of the night sky observatories was performed and basic maintenance improvements are being undertaken. In 2024, we will be ready for putting them into remote operation and start using them with selected teachers and their classrooms. For this purpose, specific observational case will need to be designed, adjusted to the capabilities of the telescope and the different educational level.

  The main tasks for this internship will be to work on:

  • Development of a pipeline for image-processing of the solar telescope as well as,
  • Remotization of the night telescopes and creation of observational cases.

    For more information on this topic, please visit: Support of Remote Operations of CESAR Solar and Night-Sky Telescopes

    Behavioural competencies

    Result Orientation
    Operational Efficiency
    Fostering Cooperation
    Relationship Management
    Continuous Improvement
    Forward Thinking

    Education

    You must have student status and be enrolled at university for the entire duration of the internship. You should preferably be in your final or second to last year of a university course at master’s level in a technical or scientific discipline.

    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.

    Additional Requirements:

    1) Topic 1:

    • Interest in Planetary Science, Space Science and Communications
    • General multimedia and Social Media knowledge
    • Knowledge of graphic design and basic HTML
    • Knowledge of developing VR projects
    • Good level of editing pictures and videos
    • Good level of English and Spanish, spoken and written, is required
    • Good communication skills
    • Good understanding of astronomical concepts
    • Familiarity with inclusive and diverse environments
    • Creativity, Capable of working in international teams and alone
    • Capable of meeting milestones within schedules

      2) Topic 2:

      • Good understanding of astronomical concepts
      • Pedagogical skills, experience working with primary and secondary school-level students
      • Experience designing education materials for inclusive and diverse audiences
      • Knowledge of developing VR projects and e-learning platforms
      • Capable of working in international teams
      • Fluent in English (reading and writing)
      • Creative, capable to meet milestones within schedules

        3) Topic 3:

        • Good knowledge of physics and mathematics and understanding of astronomical concepts
        • Practical experience in Python programming and UNIX environments
        • Experience with image processing
        • Knowledge of programs for astronomical equipment control (dome, mount, cameras...) in particular ASCOM, Talon, Indi...
        • Knowledge in astronomical equipment for ground-based observatories
        • Practical experience in amateur observing would be an asset
        • Capable of working in international teams
        • Fluent in English (reading and writing)
        • Capable of meeting milestones within schedules

          Other information

          For behavioural competencies expected from ESA staff in general, please refer to the ESA Competency Framework.

          If you require support with your application due to a disability, please email contact.human.resources@esa.int.

          Internships can take place remotely, on-site or partially on-site depending on the pandemic situation, and in line with the relevant Establishment’s policy (e.g. possible Green Pass requirement) applicable at the time of starting the internship.

          Please note that applications are only considered from nationals of one of the following States: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Nationals from Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia, as Associate Member States, or Canada as a Cooperating State, can apply as well as those from Bulgaria, Croatia and Cyprus as European Cooperating States (ECS).