On April 15, an informational seminar was held at the Ministry of Education and Science for representatives of the Latvian space industry regarding the European Space Agency (ESA) GSTP Optional Program.
The ESA GSTP program is designed to develop a wide range of technologies that can be used in space at Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) 3–7. More than 1 million euros in funding is available for Latvian organizations through this program. GSTP funding is available for research organizations and companies working with advanced, space-useable technologies. Latvia has been an associated member state of the ESA since July 27, 2020. The seminar is organized by the Ministry of Education and Science in collaboration with the European Space Agency.
During the seminar at the Ministry of Education and Science lecturers Matthew Bullock and Noelia Peinado introduced the 27 participants with key elements of the GSTP Programme Proposal for CM25, which was followed by a Q&A session. Further on the lecturers explained the different pathways for engaging in GSTP projects. This was then followed by valuable one-on-one meetings with companies. The agenda was adjusted so that as many companies as possible could have an opportunity to receive important individual comments. In total 11 individual meetings took place during the seminar. Another important aspect of the seminar – ESA introduced a new approach in signing contracts by using a cooperative agreement which will speed up the contracting process.
SEMINAR MATERIALS
The seminar was organized within the framework of the ERDF project No. 1.1.1.1/1/24/I/001 “More Efficient Implementation and Management of Latvia's Science Policy”.
