In 2022, ESA and the European University Institute established the European Space Agency Postgraduate Research Grants. The programme, financed by ESA, supports scholars conducting research based on the ESA fonds held at the Historical Archives of the European Union (HAEU). Two grants of €5000 are available each year.
HAEU has just opened the call for applications for the two 2023 grants, with a deadline of 30 June 2023.
The programme was conceived to facilitate European postgraduate scholars in history, humanities and other social sciences, with a research interest in European activities in space, in conducting research at HAEU. Part of the Historical Archives of ESA and its predecessor organisations (ELDO and ESRO) are deposited at the HAEU and are open for consultation after 15 years. The HAEU is both a rich research resource in itself and also part of the vibrant and international scholarly community of the European University Institute in Florence.
ESA’s convention lays out its mandate “to promote, for exclusively peaceful purposes, cooperation among European States in space research and technology”. And with this grant programme, we hope to enable researchers to tell the stories of how our peaceful exploitation of space has brought benefits to European citizens and made a difference to the wellbeing of our planet, across all fields of human endeavour. So whatever element of European cooperation in space interests you, we would welcome your application.
In fact, we are particularly keen to hear from researchers who would like to explore the 1973-4 drafting of the ESA convention itself in the European Space Conference fonds at HAEU!
Read more to discover how one of these grants could make a difference to your research. And please also share this news with your professional networks too!