Call for Interest to host the 5th Symposium on Space Educational Activities!

The ESA Education office is happy to announce a call for interest to host the 5^th Symposium on Space Educational Activities!

The ESA Education office is searching for a university or other tertiary education establishment to host this symposium, with a proposed date of ‘Spring 2026’. Hosts are welcome to collaborate with other organisations, including conference organisers in order to accommodate this growing educational forum, while still maintaining the ethos of ‘by students, for students’, for the core elements of the symposium.

The symposium is expected to attract around 300 tertiary education students, university professionals and professors as well as space industry and institution representatives from across Europe and promises to be an exciting showcase of the state, and future of, space educational activities in ESA member and associate states and the wider world!

Both inside and outside the lecture theatre, there is a huge suite of hands-on and training activities, existing across Europe, with the aim to educate and promote research and careers in the space sector. The 5^th Symposium aims to bring together current and future participants of these educational activities as well as the organisers and promises to offer an exciting forum for discussion on the current state and future of space educational activities in Europe.

Specifically the symposium aims at:

• Showcase Student Projects: Provide a platform for tertiary education (university and vocational) students and young professionals to present their hands-on projects, including satellite development, robotics, experiments aboard the ISS, and other space science and technology initiatives.

• Facilitate Collaboration: Encourage networking and collaboration among students, educators, industry professionals, and institutions involved in space education.

• Exchange Best Practices: Share innovative teaching methods, tools, and approaches to make space education more engaging and effective.

• Promote Diversity and Inclusion: Highlight initiatives aimed at increasing diversity in the space sector, including gender balance, accessibility, and outreach to underrepresented communities.

• Promote the importance of space education: 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, engineers and others.

• Discuss Future Trends: Explore emerging trends in space education, including the use of new technologies, interdisciplinary approaches, and the role of space in solving global challenges.

• Address the skills gap: Discuss the identified gap between the hard and soft skills provided by current educational curricula and the needs of the space industry.

• Support Career Development: Help students and young professionals connect with mentors, educational organisations, and potential employers in the space industry.

This fifth symposium follows in the series of successful symposium started in Padua in 2015, and further hosted in Budapest (2018), Leicester (2019) and Barcelona (2022) will constitute a continuation of the series tracking the evolution of space educational activities and their participants.

To register potential hosting organisations should complete the online form.

In order to be eligible, hosts must be a Tertiary Education Institution (e.g. a University), located in an ESA Member State, Canada, Latvia, Lithuania or Slovakia.

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) which will include a complete Statement of Work to which the host should respond with their complete proposal.

Notifications of interest should be registered by 17 February 2025.

Selection process for hosting organisation:

30 January 2025	Open Call for Interest for Hosts
17 February 2025	Close of Call for Interest for Hosts
February – April 2025	Preliminary RFQ Schedule: Call for Proposals, Evaluation, Clarification/Negotiation and Award

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

June 2025	Online platform/website available and first round of promotional activities.
August 2025	Call for Abstracts Online registration open
November 2025	Close of call for Abstracts
February 2026	Notification of acceptance/instruction to authors Issue of preliminary programme
March/April/May 2026	Execution of symposium
July/August/September 2026	Publication of symposium proceedings.

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