Conditions to apply

Students who would like to participate in the Drop Your Thesis! programme must comply with the following criteria at the time of the application:

• be aged between 18 and 32
• a citizen of an eligible state 
• a full-time student in a university of an eligible state for the period of the experiment development and the time of the campaign
• studying a scientific or engineering subject.

Conditions for participation

The proposed experiment must be an integral part of the student’s syllabus. This can be achieved through a bachelor, master, or PhD thesis; a research programme; or any form of project supported by the applicant’s university.

Student teams must show that the project has the support of their universities through a letter of endorsement from a professor or academic supervisor. This letter is attached within the application package that is delivered to the ESA's Education Office. If the team is made up of students made from multiple universities endorsement letters are required from each university. If there is a formal agreement between the involved universities, the Education Office should be informed of the terms of this agreement, and updated should that agreement change.

The core team should be composed of two to four students, all of which must fulfil the eligibility criteria. At least one, and preferably two, team members should comply with the condition of involvement in the syllabus as discussed above.

The final number of team members that can personally assist and participate in the execution of the experiments at ZARM Drop Tower is dependent on the requirements of the experiment itself. The discission on the number of students present is subject to acceptance from the review board, who may decide to reduce the size of the team.

The initial composition of the core team cannot be changed throughout the programme. If, for exceptional reasons, changes are absolutely necessary, they will be subject to the approval of the review board.

The proposals submitted by the student teams will be evaluated based on the fulfilment of all the required steps. Please read the how to apply page carefully.

Endorsing professors

Overall endorsing professor

Participating teams are required to show written support by at least one professor or academic supervisor, to supervise the work of the students. The endorsing professor must belong to the same educational institution as at least one of the core team members. The endorsing professor’s roles and responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Provide student teams with assistance in accessing and navigating university policies, and processes
• Assist student teams with accessing resources such as laboratory space, and equipment
• Endorse the entire application, and development process of the team
• Bear responsibility for the experiment

If the team consists of students from multiple universities, each university is required to have at least one endorsing professor.

At the moment of application, the endorsing professor, or professors, must provide ESA's Education Office with a Letter of Endorsement. The letter must state the names of the students involved and that they bear responsibility for their involvement in the programme.

ELGRA mentor

Additionally, the European Low Gravity Research Association (ELGRA) offers each selected team the possibility access mentorship and support from a European scientist experienced in gravity-related research.

The objective of the ELGRA mentors' relationships with the students is to bring some support to the team and to advise them during their experiment rack development. The mentors primarily focus on the scientific aspects of the projects.

The ELGRA mentors follow the evolution of the team’s participation until the end of the programme, including the post-campaign activities. If conditions are suitable the mentor may to visit the institution of the student team to visit the team and their facility.

Selection criteria

In order to assess the experiment proposals, the review board will take into account various criteria, such as: the experiment’s ability to meet the constraints of the ZARM Drop Tower, the scientific or technological interest, the relevance of hypergravity for the proposed research, its novelty and the level of involvement of the project in the students’ syllabus. While not a criterion for selection, we ask the teams to explain if and how the experiment’s goals align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as well as the ESA strategic Goals. The selection will be performed in a single step and may involve a presentation to the Selection Board.

Please note that the conditions detailed above are subject to change without prior notice.