High standards at the ESA Academy Standardisation Training Course 2018
ESA’s Education Office teamed up again with the Requirements, Standards and Engineering Knowledge Office to run the second edition of the Standardisation Training Course 2018. From 12 to 15 June 2018, 22 university students with an engineering background, from 12 different ESA Member and Associate States, descended upon the ESA Academy Training and Learning Centre in ESEC-Redu, Belgium. Their goal: discover the European Cooperation for Space Standardization (ECSS), its standards and how they are applied in a variety of space-related disciplines.
The standards are a vital part of the space sector, used as a tool to facilitate the work between space agencies and industry. However, they are usually not taught at universities, which is why ESA is keen to give students the opportunity to learn about them.
"What an amazing week!” enthused a Romanian student from the ETH Zurich. “Having the chance to meet some of the most experienced professionals in the space domain, while working with colleagues from all over Europe and Canada who share the same passion was such an incredible experience. I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in the space domain. Set your standards high because this course is going to be more than you expect."
ESA and external experts from the space industry handled the tuition. They began by introducing the ECSS system and the unique characteristics that make it so useful in space projects. Then, for a variety of technical disciplines, the students learnt about the applicable standards, why they are relevant, and how to apply and tailor them. The trainers made excellent use of real-life examples, exercises, and personal experiences to demonstrate the importance of the standards and explain when and how they use them.
A German student from the University of Southampton explained, "With all the inspiring experts from the field, ESA managed to make a standardisation training course interactive and very interesting with valuable information for my own future projects. Getting trained by experts from ESA and external partners on the ESEC site in Belgium together with students from different ESA member states is a truly unique experience that will make a difference to all of us."
At the end of the training course, the students were evaluated through an online evaluation questionnaire in order to obtain a grade for their course transcript. With this document and their certificate of participation, the students will be able to claim ECTS credit(s) for their participation from their respective universities.
The students also had the chance to visit ESA’s space Security and Education Centre (ESEC), and the PROBA Control Room, which was an eye-opening experience.
“The Standardisation training course was a great experience for me,” said a Czech student from the Brno University of Technology. “Since I have not had many lessons in space engineering at my university, I took tons of notes and tried to catch every piece of information. It was my life-time opportunity and you made it great.”
This was the 30th training session to take place in the ESA Academy Training and Learning Centre in ESEC-Redu since its inauguration in March 2016. It also has the honour of being the last, as future events will be held in the new Training and Learning Facility of the ESA Education Training Centre in ESEC-Galaxia!
To find more information about upcoming and future ESA Academy training opportunities, please visit our dedicated website section or contact us at esa.academy @ esa.int