OPPORTUNITY: apply now to the ESA Student Internship Programme

The 2025 ESA internship opportunities are now live and available also for Latvian students! Positions are open in a wide range of fields, including engineering, science, IT, natural and social sciences, business, economics, and administrative services. Apply until the end of November!

This is your chance to launch your career in the extraordinary world of space exploration—don't miss out on this incredible opportunity to gain hands-on experience with one of the world’s leading space organisations!

Browse this year’s opportunities directly on our recruitment website. Create your candidate profile, upload your CV and add your motivation letter to submit your application. Applications will remain open until 30 November – apply now for your chance for a taste of space!

To be eligible to apply for an ESA internship, you must meet the following criteria:

A student, preferably in your final or second-to-last year of a university course at Master’s level.
A citizen of one of the following ESA Member States: Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Nationals from Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia, as Associate Members, or Canada as a Cooperating State, can apply as well as those from Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus and Malta as European Cooperating States.

How do I apply?

Browse the opportunities directly on our recruitment website by clicking here. Once you find the one that interests you the most, create your candidate profile, upload your CV and motivation letter, then submit your application.

Starting date

The starting date of the internship is flexible and can be decided by mutual agreement with your tutor. It should allow for the fact that you will need to be enrolled at university for the duration of the internship, which will be between three and six months.

What can a student expect from an internship at ESA?

Our internships offer the chance for many students to get their first exposure to the space industry and ESA, with many of our technical positions affording them hands-on experience at some of the best facilities in the world. Many of our interns also use the opportunity at ESA to inject some unique research and insights into their university theses. It is also important to mention the social and networking side of an ESA internship: students will get the chance to work alongside hundreds of other early career professionals, learn from each other, make long-lasting friendships and connections and, of course, have fun!
- Andrew Kane, ESA Entry-Levels Programme Coordinator

Our tips for applying

To make your application as strong as possible, we suggest the following steps:

Read through the different opportunities thoroughly and select the opportunity that most interests you and fits best with your academic background and aspirations. You can apply to a maximum of two internship positions, however within each internship opportunity there is no limit to the choice of topics.
Share your motivation, interests and enthusiasm in your motivation letter – but keep it clear and concise.
Answer the questions in the application form carefully: they are important for us to learn more about your profile and background.
Join our live webinar on 12 November 2024 for more information and to ask any additional questions you may have.

Selection process

November 2024: publication of internship opportunities.
December 2024 - January 2025: shortlisting and selection of candidates.
February 2025: earliest start date for internships. The starting date of the internship is flexible (between February and October of the same year) and can be decided by mutual agreement with your tutor.

Get informed

Find out more about what the ESA Student Internship Programme offers, how the selection process works and the terms and conditions on our Student Internships page.

If you have any questions about ESA’s Internship Programme, please check our internship FAQs.

Good luck with your application!