Call for Interest to host the 4th Symposium on Space Educational Activities!

The ESA Education office is happy to announce a call for interest to host the 4^thSymposium on Space Educational Activities!

The ESA Education office is searching for a university or higher education establishment to host this symposium, with a proposed date of ‘Spring 2021’. As in previous years the symposium is expected to attract at around 200 students, educators and professors from across Europe and promises to be an exciting showcase of the state, and future of, space educational activities in ESA member/cooperating states and the wider world!

Students attending lectures during the 3rd SSEA

Beyond the traditional classroom environment, there is a large suite of hands-on and training activities, opportunities and collaborations existing across Europe, with the aim to educate and promote research and careers in space science and technology. The 4^thSymposium aims to bring together the providers of such activities, along with former, current and future participants, and to provide a forum for discussion on the current state and future of space educational activities in Europe and experiences there-of.

Specifically the symposium aims:

To enable educators (both curricular and extra-curricular) to showcase and share their experiences providing/supporting space educational activities at the tertiary education (i.e. University) level
To enable tertiary education (e.g. University) student, and young professional, participants in space educational activities to share their educational, scientific and technical results and experiences.
To provide a forum for discussion on the current and future state of tertiary level space educational activities in Europe.
To enable educators (including University students and High School teachers) to showcase and share their experiences in providing space educational activities for the secondary (e.g. high school) education level which ‘bridge’ the gap between secondary and tertiary education.
To provide networking opportunities for both space education professionals and for participants in space education projects/activities.
To elevate the understanding of academic, industrial and government institutions/organisations of the importance of hands-on activities and specialised training and learning opportunities in the preparation of the next generation of space scientists and engineers.

Welcome session of the 3rd Symposium at the University of Leicester

This fourth symposium follows the successful 1^stSymposium (Padua, Italy, December 2015), 2^ndSymposium (Budapest, Hungary, April 2018) and 3^rdSymposium (Leicester, UK, September 2019) will constitute a continued series of symposia tracking the evolution of space educational activities and their participants.

More information on previous symposiums may be found here.

To register potential hosting organisations should complete the online form.

In order to be eligible, hosts must be an Institute of Higher Education (i.e. a University), located in an ESA Member State, Canada or Slovenia.

Following the close of the call for interest, registered parties will be invited to participate in a Request For Quotation issued by ESA Procurement (ESA HQ / ESTEC Purchase Office).

Calls for interest should be registered by May 1^st2020.

Selection process for hosting organisation:

6^thApril 2020	Open Call for Interest for Hosts
1^stMay 2020	Close of Call for Interest for Hosts
Week 19 to Week 26 of 2020	Preliminary RFQ Schedule: Call for Proposals, Evaluation, Clarification/Negotiation and Award

Preliminary symposium organisation schedule (to be agreed with the selected hosting organisation):

July 2020	Online platform/website available and first round of promotional activities.
August 2020	Call for Abstracts Online registration open
December 2020	Close of call for Abstracts
January/February 2021	Notification of acceptance/instruction to authors Issue of preliminary programme
March/April/May 2021	Execution of symposium
July/August/September 2021	Publication of symposium proceedings.

The ESA Education Office will support the hosting organisation with a subsidy of up to €10,000, plus support with the organisation and technical conference committees.

Contact person for this Expression of Interest: Alex Kinnaird esa.academy@esa.int