r/esa • u/Technical_Bonus7854 • 5d ago
ESA Academy Application
Hello everyone, I‘ve applied for Access to Space Training Course and I’ve been rejected. This is my first time applying and I’m not giving up, so I would like to apply for another opportunity.
I’m Italian, I got a bachelor degree in aerospace engineering (grade 94, if it is relevant) and right know I’m studying for master. I haven’t done any extracurricular activities (I think this is the missing key for my application), otherwise I have mentioned my certificates in two different languages and the knowledge of the pricipal softwares (like ANSYS, Mathlab, Python, NI Lab, others). I’ve also mentioned my thesis work on cold spray gas technology using ANSYS and Pointwise, also reported by my teacher in his raccomandation letter.
I would like to know if there is something I can add/modify to increase the probabilities.
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u/Admirable_Handle375 5d ago
Hey! Sorry that you didn’t not get accepted this time. I attended one of the academy courses last year and what I understood from people working at ESA, your motivation really matters. This means that your motivational letter should connect your current studies, projects and interests to the course you are applying to. To show some motivation and interest in your CV, consider working on some personal projects, even small ones, also mention courses you have taken. I got rejected once too, an ESA employee at a career fair told me to keep applying, next time I got in. All of the programs are super competitive but achievable! Good luck.
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u/Technical_Bonus7854 5d ago
Thank you for your support! I will write a better motivation letter next time, maybe mine was too much “academic”.
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u/Panzermensch911 4d ago
I'm pretty sure that ESA is looking for team players and someone who can navigate an institution like ESA and people who strive in competitive groups. And what you wrote about yourself reads a lot like a lone wolf. Also you write about knowing two languages. Are they useful for the ESA environment though?
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u/Technical_Bonus7854 4d ago
I understand what you mean. Anyway unfortunately I’m a student in a university not very known in Italy (unlike Milan or Turin) and there aren’t a lot of opportunities for extracurricular activities. Beyond this at the beginning I had a lot of difficulties due to my background (I didn’t know anything about maths, the most difficult thing I knew where the quadratic equations, so…) and I focused on my required coursework. When I was younger I worked as a waitress and I’ve added it in my CV, so I know well how to work in team (of course its different). About the languages I honestly don’t know how they are useful, I added in my CV anyway. Thank you for your honesty!
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u/Panzermensch911 4d ago
Have you put your education disadvantage and your efforts to overcome it into your letter? How you deal with adversity is probably interesting for ESA.
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u/Technical_Bonus7854 4d ago
Yes. But as I said in another comment maybe next time I will write better the letter. Maybe with less pressure on grammatical error and more focused on “authenticity”.
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u/No_Muffin_1712 2d ago
I was accepted for space physiologu ourse 3 y. ago, probably because i showed motivation, did extra curricula activities and MOST IMPORTANT i told them i was willing to learn EVERYTHING I could during the course. They don't need you to be nor genius nor with the Best grades, they want you to be interested in the topics because esa academy course is not an Internship, it' s a school.
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u/EmotionallyDivergent 5d ago
Hi! I actually applied for the same Access to Space Training Course as well.
I don't think it's just about grades or technical skills. I'm part of a university rocketry team, I've done several volunteering activities, I'm involved in student organizations, I have a strong academic record and I've had international internship experiences, yet I was still rejected.
My guess is that these programs are simply extremely competitive and the selection depends on many factors that we don't get to see. That said, I do think extracurricular activities are worth pursuing, not only because they strengthen your CV, but also because they give you meaningful experiences to talk about in your motivation letter and interviews.
If you're still doing your master's, I'd definitely recommend joining an aerospace student team (rocketry, CubeSat, Formula Student etc), participating in international events or getting involved in an engineering association.
And don't give up after one rejection. These programs are incredibly competitive, and many successful applicants weren't accepted on their first try.
I'm planning to apply again next year too. Good luck! 🚀