Young Professional Event 2024

30 May 2024, 08:00 → 1 Jun 2024, 23:59 Europe/Amsterdam

Erasmus Building, ESTEC

 

The Young Professional Event (YPE) is an exciting annual conference for young professionals at ESA where talks, hands-on workshops, panels, and social activities are organised over a three-day period. Young professionals from each site come to ESTEC, transforming it into a hub for connection, networking, and deepening their knowledge on a several topics.

 

This year, the main event will be held on the Friday 31st May at ESTEC with additional optional activities planned on the 30th May and 1st June. The theme is Deep Space Exploration including both human/robotic spaceflight and science missions in our solar system. On Friday 31st, we will welcome our DG in the morning to discuss ESA’s future exploration strategy, followed by a panel discussion featuring representatives from HRE and SCI. In the afternoon we will embark on an interstellar journey, where we traverse the vastness of our solar system and the universe beyond. Starting with a captivating session on human presence in Low Earth Orbit, we then make pit stops at the Moon and Mars, culminating in a deep dive into our profound space science missions. To end the day right, you will have the opportunity to attend a beautiful gala on Friday evening. Additional, optional activities are planned on Thursday and Saturday. Have a look at our exciting schedule for more details!

 

The YPE is a fantastic opportunity to connect with fellow professionals from all ESA sites, as well as learn from our speakers’ expertise who will provide insight into what is at the forefront of ESA’s activities right now!

 

The registrations are first come, first served. However, we will make sure to be fair to people that have to wait for their mission request approval. Read the page on Mission Request System for more information about this process.

 

Want to know more? Check out our FAQ. Interested? Register below.

ESTEC Map YPE 2024.pdf

Thursday, 30 May

08:00 → 12:00 Young Professionals Arriving at ESTEC

If you would like to arrive at ESTEC in time for the ESTEC lab tours or the ED&I workshop, we recommend that you travel during the morning of the Thursday. If you would like to make it to the Young Professional Lunch, please make sure you leave enough time to take the bus from Leiden Centraal and to get through the ESTEC gates.

12:30 → 14:00 Young Professional Lunch

If you are already arriving at ESTEC on Thursday, we do not want you to have lunch alone so please join us in the Young Professional Lunch at the main canteen! We will send an email with meeting point and a map closer to the event day.

14:00 → 15:00 Guided ESTEC Lab Tours - Groups 1 and 3

Pre-booked lab tour for groups 1 and 3. Check your emails to see your assigned group. Meet 15 minutes before the start time at Micky’s Couch near ESTEC Reception.

Have you ever wondered what actually goes on at ESTEC? To satisfy your curiosity, we will be organising guided tours of the labs throughout ESTEC on Thursday afternoon.

One tour will visit the Test Centre and Planetary/Robotics lab. Another tour will visit the TT&C lab and the Rainbow Corridor.

We will split participants into smaller groups, so if you are also interested in the ED&I workshop, you will be able to attend both a tour and the workshop. Please note that spaces on the tours will be prioritised for those who do not work at ESTEC.

15:00 → 17:30 ED&I Workshop

The Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Young ESA working group invites you our dedicated Diversity workshop! This year the theme will be LGBTQ+ inclusion. We will have guest speakers, interactive group discussions, and the opportunity to dive into the challenges faced by the LGBTQ+ community, both in ESA and in the space sector in general.

For more information and to register see this article.

15:00 → 16:00 Guided ESTEC Lab Tours - Groups 2, 4, and 5

Pre-booked lab tour for groups 2, 4, and 5. Check your emails to see your assigned group. Meet 15 minutes before the start time at Micky’s Couch near ESTEC Reception.

Have you ever wondered what actually goes on at ESTEC? To satisfy your curiosity, we will be organising guided tours of the labs throughout ESTEC on Thursday afternoon.

One tour will visit the Test Centre and Planetary/Robotics lab. Another tour will visit the TT&C lab and the Rainbow Corridor.

We will split participants into smaller groups, so if you are also interested in the ED&I workshop, you will be able to attend both a tour and the workshop. Please note that spaces on the tours will be prioritised for those who do not work at ESTEC.Have you ever wondered what actually goes on at ESTEC? To satisfy your curiosity, we will be organizing guided tours of the labs throughout ESTEC on Thursday afternoon.

One tour will visit the Test Centre and Planetary/Robotics lab. The second tour will visit the TT&C lab and the Rainbow Corridor.

We will split participants into smaller groups, so if you are also interested in the ED&I workshop, you will be able to attend both. Please note that spaces on the tours will be prioritised for those who do not work at ESTEC.

18:00 → 22:00 Social at ESCAPE

To finish off the day and for you to continue to meet as many Young Professionals as possible, we will guide everyone to ESCAPE after the Lab tours and ED&I workshop so you can enjoy an evening together before the YPE.

19:30 → 20:30 Space Slam

Join us for a battle of scientific, technical and comedic wits as we host the first all ESA Space Slam.
In the space slam our presenters will compete to present their work or research in a fun way. At the end, you the audience will decide who has the coolest, funniest, or most insightful presentation of the evening by way of noise - the louder you cheer, the better!

Friday, 31 May

08:30 → 09:00 Registration

Make sure you arrive early enough with a valid ticket! We will close the doors at 9AM sharp!

09:00 → 10:00 Opening Ceremony

The day kicks off in grand style with the opening ceremony, which includes our welcome message and a speech by the Head of Establishment Dietmar Pilz, kindly hosting the YPE again this year. Following that, there will be a Young ESA panel featuring insights from young professionals across all European sites, highlighting this year's exciting advances. To wrap up, we are thrilled to present a captivating keynote by ESM System Engineer Jens Lauren.

Speakers: Young ESA, Dietmar Pilz, Jens Lauren

10:00 → 10:55 DG Interview

Come and meet your Director General! In this first hour the DG will be interviewed on stage on different topics - from his role in ESA and the associated political aspects to his views on the Young Professional community. You will also be able to ask your questions in a Q&A session at the end!

Speaker: Josef Aschbacher

10:55 → 11:05 Coffee Break

11:05 → 12:00 DG Panel Session

The DG will be joined on stage by the directors of HRE and SCI to discuss ESA's strategy for Science and Exploration. The session will finish with a Q&A.

Speakers: Josef Aschbacher, Carole Mundell, Daniel Neuenschwander

12:00 → 13:00 Panel: Human Spaceflight

Ever wondered what happens to the physical and mental state of astronauts during spaceflight? There's no better way to know than listening directly to an astronaut talk about their personal experience! The astronaut will be joined by an exploration scientist in space biology and a flight surgeon for an interactive panel. The session will not only cover currently known stressors, but also how the different stressors will evolve during future long-duration missions to the Moon and Mars!

Speakers: Frank De Winne, Christiane Hahn, Stephen Alamo

13:00 → 14:30 Lunch

14:15 → 14:30 Mario Kart Grand Prix

We have already raced our way through the different ESA sites, and soon we will take on our friends at NASA and JAXA, but first we will race the all-ESA Mario Kart Finale at this year's YPE. Not all site champions could make it, but we've got the best drivers from the top 4 site tournaments who can join us physically at the YPE. We will hold the YPE Mario Kart Grand Prix at 14:15 on the main stage after lunch - Join us as we see who's the best Mario Kart Young ESA Tournament racer at the YPE!

14:30 → 14:45 Coffee Break

14:45 → 15:45 ESA Datalabs Workshop 1: Galaxy classification with machine learning

Take a dive in the world of machine learning applied to space science with our hands-on workshop, where we will delve into galaxy classification. In less than one hour, we will build a machine learning pipeline on ESA datalabs to classify the images from the MNIST-galaxy dataset. Discover with us how to accelerate your projects with off-the-shelf models, facilitate hyperparameters optimization, and streamline your workflows with data versioning and automated pipelines for machine learning thanks to ESA Datalabs. No matters your data science skills, join us for an immersive experience in the depths of the universe!

Requirements: basic python

14:45 → 15:45 ESA Datalabs Workshop 2: Euclid image data processing

Join us for a hands-on astronomical image processing workshop where you get the chance to work with the very first Euclid images ever released! Using the ESA Datalabs platform, you don’t have to worry about downloading any data or installing packages and can focus on the science without the hassle. Come and find out: what data Euclid collects and how? What does the raw data look like and how do we get from there to the dazzling screensaver-worthy images we saw in the press release?

Requirements: basic python, no prior astronomical image processing experience needed - just enthusiasm for space

14:45 → 15:45 Talk: Moon & Mars

The Moon & Mars Session will focus on the new European strategy for exploring Moon and Mars destinations in the coming decades, a top priority for the Agency. We'll start by delving into general aspects of this strategy, such as the development of technologies initially tailored for a specific destination and later re-scaled for others. Following that, we'll explore how Moon and Mars-specific science and technology developments contribute to the overall roadmap. Special speakers will cover each of these topics, and you'll have the opportunity to ask them all your burning questions!

Speakers: Stefaan De Mey, James David Carpenter, Elliot Sefton-Nash

15:45 → 16:30 Poster Session

Discover the projects of your fellow young professionals at the poster session! We will start with lightning talks, followed by the opportunity to mingle and explore the posters. Vote for the best poster, and the winner, chosen by you, will receive a special prize!

16:30 → 17:30 CDF Workshop

Have you always wondered how space missions start? Time to learn about it by discovering the CDF Room and the team of system engineers in charge of the early phases study in ESTEC. You will attend a presentation of the CDF Room and engage in hands-on activities throughout the workshop.

16:30 → 17:30 Talk: Science - From the Solar System to the Cosmos

Embark on a captivating science session delving into the depths of deep space, navigating from the marvels of our solar system to the mysteries of exoplanets and the enigma of dark energy. Take part in a journey through fundamental questions in cosmology and planetary science, promising profound insights into the forefront of space exploration.

Speakers: Colin Wilson, Theresa Lueftinger, Guadalupe Cañas-Herrera

17:30 → 17:45 Closing Ceremony

20:30 → 01:00 Young Professional Event Deep Space Soirée

The closing party for the 2024 Young Professional Event. Access is restricted to ticket holders.

Saturday, 1 June

14:00 → 19:00 Afternoon Social Activities

The social activities team have been hard at work arranging a range of social activities including cycling, laser tag and a visit to the Space Expo. Sign-ups for these activities have closed so check your emails for the details and start time for your chosen afternoon social activity.

20:00 → 23:59 Evening Social Activities

Wish the YPE could last just a little bit longer? Then join us for the final organised social activities. Whether is is a cozy games night or a pub crawl through the historic centre of Leiden, we have something for everyone. Sign-ups for these activities have now closed so check your emails for more information and the start time of your chosen activity.