The Space Standards Training Course is a five-day ESA Academy programme that introduces university students to the European Cooperation for Space Standardization (ECSS), the standards framework European space projects are built on. ESA’s Requirements and Standards Section runs the teaching together with specialists from across the agency, showing how standards shape project management, engineering, software, testing and product assurance. The eighth edition ran from 1 to 5 June 2026 at ESA Academy’s Training and Learning Facility inside the European Space Security and Education Centre (ESEC) in Redu, Belgium.
Sessions covered system engineering, structures, control and electrical engineering, mechanisms, communication protocols, software, thermal engineering, ground systems, advanced manufacturing and 3D printing, alongside ECSS NextGen, artificial-intelligence applications and case studies drawn from Lunar Gateway and ExoMars. Students who complete the week leave with a certificate of participation and a course transcript.
Benefits & funding
- Five days of teaching by ESA standardisation and engineering specialists at ESEC, Belgium.
- Accommodation and meals during the course sponsored by ESA.
- Travel to Belgium supported up to €350.
- Certificate of participation and a course transcript, which participants can use to request ECTS credit(s) from their own university.
- Canadian participants may seek additional travel funding from the Canadian Space Agency.
Eligibility
- Enrolled as a university student in a Bachelor (BSc or equivalent), Master (MSc or equivalent) or Doctoral (PhD or equivalent) programme with a background in business, engineering or science; the 2026 edition required enrolment for the 2025-2026 academic year.
- Aged 18 or over.
- Citizen of an ESA Member State, of an ESA Associate Member (Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia) or of Canada. Canadian applicants take part on the basis of enrolment at a Canadian post-secondary institution.
- No or only limited professional experience in space-related topics.
- Available to attend the full five days in person at ESEC.
Can you apply?
Here's who can apply
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Eligible nationalities
Austria · Belgium · Canada · Cyprus · Czechia · Denmark · Estonia · Finland · France · Germany · Greece · Hungary
+ 16 more
Ireland · Italy · Latvia · Lithuania · Luxembourg · Netherlands · Norway · Poland · Portugal · Romania · Slovakia · Slovenia · Spain · Sweden · Switzerland · UK
Education required
Bachelor Enrolled · Master Enrolled · PhD Enrolled
Age requirement
≥ 18 yrs
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Application process
- 1Create an account on ESA Learn, ESA’s education and community platform, and open the course entry for the current edition.
- 2Complete the online application form; answers and documents are submitted in English.
- 3Upload a motivation letter (PDF, maximum 1 page).
- 4Upload a CV in Europass format (PDF, maximum 2 pages).
- 5Upload a transcript of grades from the two previous semesters, or the previous academic year if semester records are unavailable.
- 6Ask a university professor to send a formal recommendation letter (PDF, maximum 1 page) by the same deadline.
- 7Submit before the deadline and wait for the selection announcement by email.
Program timeline
Application and recommendation letter deadline (23:55 CET) for the eighth edition.
22 February 2026
Selection results announced.
13 March 2026
Course opens at ESEC, Belgium.
1 June 2026
Course ends.
5 June 2026
Next edition
ESA has not yet published dates; earlier editions opened for application in the winter before a course held in early summer.