Our team and mission

This position is based at the European Centre for Space Applications and Telecommunications (ECSAT) - Harwell, UK

IMPORTANT: Due to the location of the ECSAT and current legislation of UK, only UK citizen, students enrolled in a UK university, or those with a pre-settled status (right to study) in the UK are eligible to apply for this internship.

The Head of the Space for 5G/6G Strategic Programme Line is responsible for the preparation and implementation of activities and programmes which aim at supporting the Space industry in developing converged 5G/6G networks, by seamless integration between satellite telecommunication networks and 5G/6G terrestrial networks. 5G and beyond to 6G promises to be a revolution in telecommunications and more importantly a catalyst and enabler for the digitalization of industry and society. This presents a great opportunity for the space industry to be part of this revolution and develop satellites, space networks, applications and services which will benefit humanity in the 5G era and beyond looking at 6G. Our mission is to develop technology and service roadmaps to drive and support industry in developing solutions providing global seamless connectivity, thanks to the successful integration of satellites and terrestrial networks.

Candidates interested are encouraged to visit the ESA website: http://www.esa.int

Field(s) of activity for the internship

Topic of the internship: 6G, AI and satellite telecommunications

Objective: You will support the 5G/6G SPL Manager in all tasks related to the definition and implementation of the strategy, projects and activities.  

You will be responsible to support the SPL Manager to ensure timely delivery and execution of the SPL. The post will require interaction with key industry and institutional players as well as internal stakeholders. 

Your responsibilities include:

• Contribute to the latest research and standardization activities related to 5G and 6G and understand their implications and opportunities for satellite telecommunications; 
• Work with application and service providers to optimize their solutions to work over converged terrestrial and satellite 5G networks;
• Develop virtual reality solutions to demonstrate their use in hybrid 5G/6G and satellite systems;
• Provide technical support to the 5G/6G Hub in demonstrations and testing;
• Provide support to XR demonstrations and tests in the 5G/6G Hub;
• Use AI methods to optimise resource utilization or to improve user experience In XR 5G/6G applications. 

You will gain hands on experience in developing and testing end-to-end solutions in the 5G/6G Innovation Hub in ECSAT, and will be given the opportunity to interact with industry in outreach activities to scout for companies interested in collaborating with ESA and benefit from ESA support in the development of their 5G/6G technologies, products and solutions. 

Project inputs: ESA will provide references and general introduction to the topic of satellite and 5G/6G, including current status on standardization, technology development, market trends, applications and services and access to the 5G/6G Hub, mixed reality solutions and hybrid satelllite networks. 

Main project outputs: A report and final presentation, describing findings and recommendations related to the above topics.

See ESA websites for more information: Space for 5G and 6G | ESA CSC 

ESA 5G/6G Hub: space to expand connectivity | ESA CSC.

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.

You may be of the following backgrounds: 

• Engineering schools/MSc with specialization on Telecoms 
• Computer Science schools/MSc preferably with specialization on Telecoms, AI, ML etc

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 demonstrate good interpersonal skills, proactiveness and the capacity to work both independently and as part of a team.   

The following are considered to be an asset: 

• An interest in XR development; 
• knowledge and background in telecommunication networks architecture, and also preferably in satellite telecommunications solutions; 
• knowledge in future cellular telecommunication, including 5G and beyond; 
• knowledge of advanced computer science topics such as Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.