ESA Graduate Trainee in School-Level Didactics and Educator Training
Redu, BE
Location
ESEC, Redu, Belgium
Our team and mission
You will work in the STEM Education and Outreach Unit which takes care of the ESA STEM Learning and Inspiration Programme targeting 3-18 years-old pupils, directly or through their teachers and educators. This programme is structured along two synergetic blocks, as follows:
- Learn with Space, initiatives to support teachers and educators from formal and non-formal education venues, starting from early-ages up to upper secondary age-groups, such as professional teacher and educator training, didactics resources, interdisciplinary school projects, thematic workshops and hackathons, inspirational activities and camps and an international community of practice. Such activities are implemented at national level through the ESA ESERO project (www.esa.int/esero), a network of dedicated national offices and consortia of partners established by ESA in its Member and Associate States.
- Let Space Inspire You, inspirational events, role modelling, career awareness initiatives, and access to space experts for youth and their families to be attracted to space and STEM, and understand their importance for society and economy. In doing so, help to break diversity barriers, boost accessibility, and promote sustainability for a better future.
You will in particular operate in the framework of the Learn with Space activity set.
You are encouraged to visit the ESA website: http://www.esa.int
Field(s) of activity/research for the traineeship
With a focus on the Learn with Space activity set introduced above, your traineeship will concentrate on the use of the space context, and of the real practice of science, for the development and delivery of early-age and school-level didactics activities. ESA Space Programmes produce indeed a wealth of knowledge, data and expertise which hold enormous potential for enhancing the teaching and learning of science and technology in Europe's.
In particular, you will:
- support the development and production of space-related teaching and learning resources for both curricular (school) and extracurricular settings (e.g. teacher/educator guides, lesson modules, experiment protocols and kits, accompanying multimedia, etc) on STEM subjects (maths, physics, chemistry, programming, technology, sciences, physical geography, etc), including in e-learning format;
- support the organization and delivery of the ESA teacher/educator training activities (workshops and training conferences in presence, and e-learning modules), including planning, content and props preparation, actual delivery of parts/modules of a course when required, as well as contribute to maintaining cooperation and with external partners;
- interact with ESA space experts for scientific validation purposes and to identify content, opportunities and themes relevant for educational content;
- support the maintenance of ESA classroom resources archive/inventory, and of the European curricular map;
- support the creation, maintenance and animation of the future ESA teacher/educator community of practice;
- contribute to the promotion of the ESA education activities, for example by writing articles, etc.
- support the other activities of the STEM Learning and Inspiration programme where needed, including reporting tasks.
Technical competencies
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 should have recently completed or be in the final year of your master’s degree in a scientific or technical discipline.
Additional requirements
You should have good interpersonal and communication skills and be able to work in a multicultural environment, both independently and as part of a team. Previous experience of working in international teams can be considered an asset. Your motivation, overall professional perspective and career goals will also be explored during the later stages of the selection process.
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
Applicants must be eligible to access technology and hardware which is subject to European and US export control regulations & security clearance by their national security administrations.
During the recruitment process, the Agency may request applicants to undergo selection tests. Additionally, successful candidates will need to undergo basic screening before appointment, which will be conducted by an external background screening service, in compliance with the European Space Agency's security procedures.
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 and Languages
Please note that applications can only be considered from nationals of one of the following States: Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Nationals from Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia as Associate Member States, or Canada as a Cooperating State, can apply as well as those from Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus and Malta as European Cooperating States (ECS).
According to the ESA Convention, the recruitment of staff must take into account an adequate distribution of posts among nationals of the ESA Member States*. When short-listing for an interview, priority will be given to external candidates from under-represented Member States*.
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.
*Member States, Associate Members or Cooperating States.