UZH and ESA promote space exploration

ESA and its member states are seeking strategies to drive forward space exploration in Europe and raise its visibility. The University of Zurich can lead the way in this regard as a good example.

According to a press release from the UZH, Kamlesh Brocard, Scientific Advisor at the Swiss Space Office of the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) and Chair of the ESA Communication Advisory Committee, acknowledged the numerous space projects and missions to which the University of Zurich has made a contribution at a conference of ESA education and communication officers held at the UZH. She added that the collaboration with ESA must be continued to the same or an even greater degree, stating: “We encourage students and professors to utilize the existing collaborative opportunities.”

According to Brocard, specifically additional research proposals could be submitted in connection with space missions as well as together with industry partners. Furthermore, student competitions or internships at ESA could be planned within the context of master’s or doctoral studies and students could be increasingly informed about the good job prospects offered by space exploration.

Beforehand, president of the UZH Michael Schaepman presented the multifaceted space research at the university and introduced the UZH Space Hub, which is the aerospace innovation cluster at the UZH that was founded in 2018. It has been involved in the major ESA flagship project LISA Pathfinder and the ESA space telescope Euclid, which was sent into space in July. Additionally, the UZH has a range of grants for research projects. Three of its spin-offs, Exolabs, Prometheus, and AskEarth, are dedicated to space issues. Moreover, Schaepman holds various roles linked to ESA. ce/mm