Intern in the Commercialisation Department, Sustainability, Partnerships, and Business Incubation
Noordwijk, NL Harwell, GB
Location
ESTEC, Noordwijk, Netherlands or ECSAT, Harwell, United Kingdom
Our team and mission
The Entrepreneurship & Business Incubation Office (CIC-SUB) represents a visible contribution to ESA’s entrepreneurial effort to boost green and digital commercialisation. By tapping into Europe’s enterprising communities, the Office is expeditiously extending the reach of European commercial space into the global economy and society at large.
In particular, the ESA Business Incubation Centre (ESA BIC) focuses on supporting entrepreneurs and early-stage start-ups using space related technologies and/or data. The ESA BICs focus on three main objectives:
- addressing real customer needs;
- diversifying space as a business (NewSpace);
- focusing on acceleration of commercial growth.
The first ESA BIC was launched in the Netherlands in 2004, which has grown into a pan-European network of 32 ESA BICs in 22 Participating States by mid-2025. The Office additionally manages the ESRIC Start-up Support Programme in Luxembourg.
The Entrepreneurship & Business Incubation Office (CIC-SUB) represents the best place for students to engage with decision-makers in industry and aspiring entrepreneurs for future engagements beyond their internships. It will also be an exciting time to join as we will be implementing the new programme to be adopted at the Ministerial Conference in November 2025.
Candidates interested are encouraged to visit the ESA website: http://www.esa.int
Field(s) of activity for the internship
Topic of the internship: Sustainability, Partnerships, and Business Incubation
The ESA BICs are embedded in a wider network of different stakeholders (national delegations, network members, EPIC partners, etc.). To promote the ESA BIC programme as a whole as well as the incubatees and alumni thereof, different activities are regularly organised by ESA and the stakeholders mentioned above. Additionally, ESA strives to promote sustainability practices across its network of ESA BICs and EPIC (ESA Partnership Initiative for Commercialisation) partners.
As an intern, you will have the following tasks:
- promote environmental awareness and culture change in the space ecosystem;
- implement sustainability initiatives in the ESA BIC network and activities;
- encourage responsible procurement and supply chains in the space ecosystem;
- support the stakeholder and partnership activities, such as EPIC;
- perform other assignments based on operational needs of the team, including on activity coordination, marketing and related tasks.
Behavioural competencies
Result Orientation
Operational Efficiency
Fostering Cooperation
Relationship Management
Continuous Improvement
Forward Thinking
For more information, please refer to ESA Core Behavioural Competencies guidebook
Education
You must be a university student, preferably studying at master’s level. In addition, you must be able to prove that you will be enrolled at your University for the entire duration of the internship.
Additional requirements
The working languages of the Agency are English and French. A good knowledge of one of these is required. Knowledge of another ESA Member State language is an asset.
During the interview, your motivation for applying to this role will be explored.
Knowledge and skills in one or several of the following areas are required:
- sustainability/business development/engineering or similar;
- MS Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint;
- social, communication and organisational skills, facilitation and presentation skills.
The following criteria would be considered assets:
- experience in sustainability related activities;
- experience in partnership building activities;
- business research skills;
- previous involvement in start-up/entrepreneurship/open innovation activities.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusiveness
ESA is an equal opportunity employer, committed to achieving diversity within the workforce and creating an inclusive working environment. We therefore welcome applications from all qualified candidates irrespective of gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religious beliefs, age, disability or other characteristics.
At the Agency we value diversity, and we welcome people with disabilities. Whenever possible, we seek to accommodate individuals with disabilities by providing the necessary support at the workplace. The Human Resources Department can also provide assistance during the recruitment process. If you would like to discuss this further, please contact us via email at contact.human.resources@esa.int.
Important Information and Disclaimer
During the recruitment process, the Agency may request applicants to undergo selection tests.
Applicants must be eligible to access information, technology, and hardware which is subject to European or US export control and sanctions regulations.
The information published on ESA’s careers website regarding internship conditions is correct at the time of publication. It is not intended to be exhaustive and may not address all questions you would have.
Nationality
Please note that applications are only considered from nationals of one of the following States: Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
