Periodic Reporting for period 1 - ASTRAIOS (Analysis of Skills, Training, Research, And Innovation Opportunities in Space)
Periodo di rendicontazione: 2023-01-01 al 2023-12-31
ASTRAIOS is a Horizon Europe project which will identify the existing space-related education and training across Europe, project future demand for space skills from the European space industry and identify actions to align and improve the career pathways into the sector.
The project will characterize the demand from the European space industry and identify actionable ways towards a better alignment between the educational offer and the skills required by the space industry. This will foster innovation and increase EU competitiveness in the space sector.
The project will characterize the demand from the European space industry and identify actionable ways towards a better alignment between the educational offer and the skills required by the space industry. This will foster innovation and increase EU competitiveness in the space sector.
The project analysed space-related educational programs and their courses at the Bachelor, MSc, PhD, and continuing education (CE) levels. We selected and analysed the courses and educational standards of 140 Degree Programs (DPs) at Bachelor (26 DPs, 1055 courses) and MSc (114 DPs, 2799 courses) levels, 19 PhD programs, and 58 CE courses. Thematic diversity, distribution across the space sectors, and geographic coverage were the main criteria used to select the DPs. Gathered DPs have been mapped across 28 knowledge domains (KDs) and 106 knowledge areas (KAs) identified in the project across the full value stream of the space sector: upstream, midstream, and downstream. The diversity of KDs ranging from environmental sciences, astronomy, aerospace engineering, mathematics, and computer science to law, biology, and chemistry highlights the interdisciplinary nature of space-related studies. Space domain requires a combination of scientific knowledge, technological skills, legal understanding, and interdisciplinary collaboration to advance further explorations in this domain.
The number of courses offered online is relatively low for all analysed DPs, with some DPs encouraging self-learning by offering students the opportunity to work on projects, research, and fieldwork, in addition to internships. Some of the gathered DPs focus on understanding Earth's environment, atmospheric monitoring, and climate change using space-related technologies. Yet, the lower representation of these KDs suggests a potential need for an increased emphasis on these areas in space-related educational programs. Similarly, the low occurrences of space safety and space traffic management KAs suggest that space systems engineering KD receives less attention in the gathered space education at the MSc level.
The courses designed to develop transversal skills are offered as elective courses in the analysed MSc programs but are rarely offered the analysed Bachelor DPs. Development of these skills at the Bachelor level is often implicitly integrated into the learning objectives of discipline-specific courses. Our analysis revealed a higher emphasis on practical experience and professional exposure at the MSc level compared to the Bachelor level.
The analysed PhD programs range widely from aeronautics, satellite engineering, and computer science to Earth Sciences-related applications. The programs included in our analysis show an emphasis on developing not only discipline-related skills but also transversal skills; language, career-oriented training, effective communication, teamwork, and project management skills. This trains PhD candidates not only as researchers but also as effective communicators and leaders.
All analysed DPs and courses are shared in a web catalogue https://astraiosdb.utwente.nl that allows users to search and retrieve collected DPs and courses based on country, institution, language, space sector, KA/KDs, or EQF level.
Space data and services are used for a wide variety of applications across many markets, so it sits at the intersection of multiple disciplines. This means that it can be difficult to understand which education and training courses are relevant to the sector.
To help harmonise language across space education and training, the project created a knowledge taxonomy EU-TaSK (EU Taxonomy of Space Knowledge). It provides a common vocabulary and structure that makes it easier to collect, analyse, and share space education information and data, and to harmonise and compare data from different institutions and sources. EU-TaSK covers the upstream, midstream, downstream, and supporting areas.
EU-TaSK is based on the KD/KA identified from DPs and courses and other existing taxonomies. It contains 4 segments, 11 themes and 6 sub-themes, and 112 knowledge areas. It is aligned with SpaceCRAFT, EO Taxonomy, and PwC space value chain. EU-TaSK is also mapped to ESCO, and we identify that space systems engineering and other space-related engineering KAs are currently missing from ESCO.
As the space industry continues to evolve, understanding the dynamics of the workforce is crucial for ensuring the growth of the sector is not constrained by a lack of access to talent. To do this, the space sector needs data to support informed decision making by space agencies, industry leaders, policymakers, and educational institutions.
By analysing over 170,000 LinkedIn profiles of people working in the space sector, we used the Talent Insights tool to analyse and create the largest dataset on the workforce of the European space sector (https://spaceskills.org/astraios). We compared these results to other European space workforce statistics such as annual reports from Eurospace and EARSC, the EU Union of Equality, and the Space Census.
The data show that the most common routes into the space sector are through university, and primarily through a Master’s degree. This degree tends to be in a STEM subject like computer science or engineering, and people tend to stay in the same country they did their highest qualification in. Aerospace engineering is becoming a more popular choice of qualification, while electronics engineering is becoming less popular.
Almost a third of people go on to work for Airbus, Thales, Capgemini, or Leonardo, and are most likely to be living and working in the UK, France, or Germany. People joining the space sector come from industries such as IT & services or aviation & aerospace. Throughout their career they develop skills such as MATLAB, SOLIDWORKS, and CAD.
Although LinkedIn Talent Insights does not provide perfect data for the sector, it provides a quick and cost-effective way to explore workforce trends
The number of courses offered online is relatively low for all analysed DPs, with some DPs encouraging self-learning by offering students the opportunity to work on projects, research, and fieldwork, in addition to internships. Some of the gathered DPs focus on understanding Earth's environment, atmospheric monitoring, and climate change using space-related technologies. Yet, the lower representation of these KDs suggests a potential need for an increased emphasis on these areas in space-related educational programs. Similarly, the low occurrences of space safety and space traffic management KAs suggest that space systems engineering KD receives less attention in the gathered space education at the MSc level.
The courses designed to develop transversal skills are offered as elective courses in the analysed MSc programs but are rarely offered the analysed Bachelor DPs. Development of these skills at the Bachelor level is often implicitly integrated into the learning objectives of discipline-specific courses. Our analysis revealed a higher emphasis on practical experience and professional exposure at the MSc level compared to the Bachelor level.
The analysed PhD programs range widely from aeronautics, satellite engineering, and computer science to Earth Sciences-related applications. The programs included in our analysis show an emphasis on developing not only discipline-related skills but also transversal skills; language, career-oriented training, effective communication, teamwork, and project management skills. This trains PhD candidates not only as researchers but also as effective communicators and leaders.
All analysed DPs and courses are shared in a web catalogue https://astraiosdb.utwente.nl that allows users to search and retrieve collected DPs and courses based on country, institution, language, space sector, KA/KDs, or EQF level.
Space data and services are used for a wide variety of applications across many markets, so it sits at the intersection of multiple disciplines. This means that it can be difficult to understand which education and training courses are relevant to the sector.
To help harmonise language across space education and training, the project created a knowledge taxonomy EU-TaSK (EU Taxonomy of Space Knowledge). It provides a common vocabulary and structure that makes it easier to collect, analyse, and share space education information and data, and to harmonise and compare data from different institutions and sources. EU-TaSK covers the upstream, midstream, downstream, and supporting areas.
EU-TaSK is based on the KD/KA identified from DPs and courses and other existing taxonomies. It contains 4 segments, 11 themes and 6 sub-themes, and 112 knowledge areas. It is aligned with SpaceCRAFT, EO Taxonomy, and PwC space value chain. EU-TaSK is also mapped to ESCO, and we identify that space systems engineering and other space-related engineering KAs are currently missing from ESCO.
As the space industry continues to evolve, understanding the dynamics of the workforce is crucial for ensuring the growth of the sector is not constrained by a lack of access to talent. To do this, the space sector needs data to support informed decision making by space agencies, industry leaders, policymakers, and educational institutions.
By analysing over 170,000 LinkedIn profiles of people working in the space sector, we used the Talent Insights tool to analyse and create the largest dataset on the workforce of the European space sector (https://spaceskills.org/astraios). We compared these results to other European space workforce statistics such as annual reports from Eurospace and EARSC, the EU Union of Equality, and the Space Census.
The data show that the most common routes into the space sector are through university, and primarily through a Master’s degree. This degree tends to be in a STEM subject like computer science or engineering, and people tend to stay in the same country they did their highest qualification in. Aerospace engineering is becoming a more popular choice of qualification, while electronics engineering is becoming less popular.
Almost a third of people go on to work for Airbus, Thales, Capgemini, or Leonardo, and are most likely to be living and working in the UK, France, or Germany. People joining the space sector come from industries such as IT & services or aviation & aerospace. Throughout their career they develop skills such as MATLAB, SOLIDWORKS, and CAD.
Although LinkedIn Talent Insights does not provide perfect data for the sector, it provides a quick and cost-effective way to explore workforce trends
The ASTRAIOS catalogue contains a structured overview of the status-quo of space-related educational programs and courses offered in 2023. The information stored in the catalogue is relevant to identify between the skill demand and skills taught by the analysed curricula.
Identified knowledge domains and areas are expected to serve as a vocabulary that should/can be continuously updated and scrutinized by the space sector communities and integrated in the existing space relevant Body of Knowledge (BoK).
The taxonomy EU-TaSK will be most valuable for education and training providers, policy makers, and students. It is intended to support:
• Resource organisation and curriculum development: Helps educators and curriculum designers to organise and structure educational content
• Guiding student choices: Helps students to understand the range of available academic subjects and make informed decisions about their course of study
• Academic communication: Aids in academic communication by providing a common language and framework
Identified knowledge domains and areas are expected to serve as a vocabulary that should/can be continuously updated and scrutinized by the space sector communities and integrated in the existing space relevant Body of Knowledge (BoK).
The taxonomy EU-TaSK will be most valuable for education and training providers, policy makers, and students. It is intended to support:
• Resource organisation and curriculum development: Helps educators and curriculum designers to organise and structure educational content
• Guiding student choices: Helps students to understand the range of available academic subjects and make informed decisions about their course of study
• Academic communication: Aids in academic communication by providing a common language and framework