ECSL Student Representative
The ECSL student representative is elected annually from students participating to the ESA/ECSL summer course and advocates for the opinions of the student community to the ECSL Board. They can work alongside the ECSL Executive Officer to promote and ensure opportunities for student members throughout the year. The student representative for 2024/2025 is Lew Töpfer.
We have asked Lew to briefly introduce himself:
My name is Lew Töpfer (he/him), I am German-Polish, and I am a 26-year-old. I am currently enrolled in the Master of Advanced International Studies at the Diplomatic Academy Vienna after finishing my interdisciplinary Bachelor degree in space law and sustainability at the Leuphana University Lüneburg.
I am really passionate about both space law and youth representation! During my time as an assistant for UN-affairs at the German Space Agency at DLR, I got to make first experiences at COPUOS and beyond, and as a German UN Youth Delegate to the General Assembly, I tried my best to make the voices of German young people heard on the international stage. Now, I hope to connect both these passions and ensure that the contributions of young researchers and practitioners are taken seriously and integrated into the wider field of space law.
Young people everywhere are always new and innovative solutions for space law questions and are already making sizeable contributions to the field. However, barriers in participation, be it lack of financial resources or multiple and intersection forms of discrimination can be barriers to meaningful engagement. Decisions made regarding the use and exploration of outer space will affect generations to come – so those who are affected the longest should be part in decision-making.
ECSL’s efforts to get students involved in space law are very valuable – I got to experience that first hand. My first academic presentation was at the ESCL Young Lawyer Symposium in 2019. The same year, I also got to participate in the Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court in Paris, and in 2024, I got to return to the competition in Vienna, this time as a Coach. Now, after participating in the ECSL Space Law Summer Course in Athens, I am now more than exited to be able to represent space law students during this year to help make these efforts even more effective and to reach even more young people, especially during the bi-annual ECSL Board Meetings.
Please feel free to reach out to me via LinkedIn or email lewtoepfer@web.de any advice, critique, questions, or to convey any suggestions you have to make your experience with ECSL a better one!
Previous ECSL Student Representatives:
- Bibi Khan - United Kingdom (2023 - 2024)
- Emil Vold - Norway (2022 - 2023)
- Hristina Talkova - Bulgaria (2021 - 2022)
- Felicia Schartner - Austria (2019 - 2021) - due to the cancelled Summer Course in 2020
- Morgane Royer - France (2018 - 2019)
- Kyran Grattan - United Kingdom (2017 - 2018)
- Victoria Schebek - Austria (2016 - 2017)
- Gina Petrovici - Germany (2015 - 2016)
- Max Trautinger - Austria (2014 - 2015)
