Intern in the Space Medicine Team, Data Handling Optimization
Porz-Wahn, DE
Location
EAC, Porz-Wahn, Germany
Our team and mission
Based at the European Astronaut Centre (EAC), ESA’s Space Medicine Team (SMT) comprises medical doctors, biomedical engineers, exercise physiologists, psychologists, IT specialists, administrators and project managers. Each plays a vital role in ensuring the health and well-being of astronauts during all stages of a mission.
To better support astronauts during current missions to the International Space Station and prepare for human missions beyond low Earth orbit, the Space Medicine Team is working to identify, evaluate and develop new space technologies and procedures. This process involves collaborating with ESA’s technology teams and Human Research Office to identify existing space-relevant technologies and scientific knowledge and looking outside of ESA at terrestrial technology developments and the wealth of current science knowledge concerning human health. The Space Medicine Team work in close partnership with national space agencies, industry, research institutions and universities from across ESA’s Member States.
For further information on space medicine internships, please follow this link
Candidates interested are encouraged to visit the ESA website: http://www.esa.int
Field(s) of activity for the internship
Topic of the internship: Optimization of data handling processes within the Space Medicine Team
The Space Medicine Team (HRE-HM) within the directorate of Human and Robotic Exploration directorate, is mandated to care for ESA Astronaut’s health and wellbeing during their entire career. In execution of this task, SMT performs numerous medical tests and evaluations to monitor Astronauts’ health. Medical documents are often shared among agencies and clinical partners in the form of PDFs and with different formatting, which makes it difficult to analyze and compare them efficiently.
As part of the SMT, the primary objectives of the internship will be to:
- Contribute to the implementation of automatic data extraction and harmonization algorithms from medical records, improving Astronaut’s medical monitoring during missions and throughout their career;
- Develop automated workflow for data extraction and import;
- Support development of educational material for the Space Medicine Team members for the topic of medical data management.
Your main responsibilities will be:
- Improve OCR (Optical Character Recognition) algorithm for automated extraction of medical laboratory exam reports;
- Implement automatic harmonization of medical tests nomenclature, e.g. abbreviations, acronyms and translation;
- Implement automated workflow for data extraction and data import using Postman;
- Create educational material related to medical data management.
Additionally, you will:
- Interact with Medical Doctors to ensure good understanding of laboratory exams naming conventions and medical topics, when applicable;
- Generate code documentation.
The following learning objectives are identified:
- Work in a cross-functional team of medical doctors, physiologists, engineers and more;
- Improve machine learning skills in medical environments by working with real-world medical data;
- Gain experience in knowledge management.
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 in your final or second-to-last year of a university course at Master’s level and you need to remain 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 Member State language would be an asset.
You should pursue a master’s degree in biomedical engineering, computer science or related disciplines, with experience in programming and machine learning. Additionally, strong analytical and problem-solving skills are an asset.
- Knowledge and experience with medical data systems;
- Experience with Optical Character Recognition algorithms;
- Experience in developing educational material for medical or other relevant topics;
- Previous experience or knowledge of Postman (API platform to build and manipulate API).
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, beliefs, age, disability or other characteristics. Applications from women are encouraged.
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 working 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.
