Spin Your Thesis! 2022 call for proposals
Take your science for a spin
The Spin Your Thesis! (SYT) programme of ESA Academy offers bachelor, master and PhD students the opportunity to design, build and test their own hypergravity experiment in the Large Diameter Centrifuge (LDC) in ESTEC. As it rotates, the LDC is capable of simulating the force of gravity up to 20 times larger than that we experience on the Earth’s surface.
Student teams are provided access to the LDC for their experiment to spin uninterrupted for up to 60 hours. The experiment is built to fit within the LDC gondola with a maximum weight of 80 kg. ESA Academy encourages applications of students from a diverse range of backgrounds, such as life sciences, physics, and engineering.
| Status: | CLOSED |
| Deadline: | EXTENDED to 12 December 2021, 23:59 CET |
Throughout the SYT programme, students will develop important scientific and academic skills, as well as skills that are important in industry, such as project, financial and risk management, problem solving and working with people from different nationalities. Data can later be published in relevant articles or presented at international conferences.
"Spin Your Thesis has enhanced my learning vastly. The knowledge and hands-on experience cooperating with top professionals in space engineering and project management have inspired me a lot. I absolutely recommend this life-changing experience!" says Adam Dąbrowski, University of Gdańsk, Poland, who led the GDArm team during SYT! 2019.
In addition, the students are supported by experts at the LDC who provide feedback on how to optimise the experiments. “It was a great experience both at personal and professional level because we could interact with ESA technicians and we could learn new techniques and how to work in a team,” says Antonella Rocca, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Italy, who was part of Team Osteo, another SYT! 2015 experiment.
“Everything about the programme is run at the highest professional level. This way, we can help to teach the students how to take part in the real world of space research. This will help ensure that Europe retains its leading space industry,” says Nigel Savage, programme coordinator for SYT and other hands-on micro- and hyper-gravity programmes.
More information can be found on the Spin Your Thesis! webpage. Teams who wish to apply are strongly encouraged to read more on the conditions to apply, and how to apply. Students applying to this call should adopt ESA’s principles on diversity and equal opportunities into account when forming their teams, as well as the eligibility requirements. Eligible teams are invited to submit a comprehensive and completed application pack before the deadline.
For further information please contact spinyourthesis @ esa.int.