Intern in the Commercialisation Acceleration Dept. - Entrepreneurship & Business Incubation Office - European Space Agency (Noordwijk)

Contract TypeTraineeship
Deadline30 November 2026

About this position

The summary below is published by European Space Agency on the official vacancy notice. Our own analysis — salary realism, comparable openings, career trajectory, language profile — follows further down the page.

Job Requisition ID:20978

Date Posted:1 November 2026

Closing Date:30 November 2026 23:59 CET/CEST

Publication Method:External Only

Directorate:Commercialisation and Industry Partnership

Location ESTEC, Noordwijk, Netherlands

Our team and mission

The Entrepreneurship & Business Incubation Office (CIP-ASB) represents a visible contribution to ESA’s entrepreneurial effort to boost green and digital commercialisation. By tapping into Europe’s enterprising communities, the Office is expeditiously extending the reach of European commercial space into the global economy and society at large.

In particular, the ESA Business Incubation Centre (ESA BIC) Network focuses on supporting entrepreneurs and early-stage start-ups using space related technologies and/or data.

The ESA BICs focus on three main objectives:

1. Addressing real customer needs; 2. Diversifying space as a business (New Space); 3. Focusing on the acceleration of commercial growth.

The first ESA BIC was launched in the Netherlands in 2004, which has grown into a pan-European network of 40 ESA BICs in 23 Participating States by mid-2026. The Office additionally manages the ESRIC Start-up Support Programme in…

Excerpt shown; read the full notice on the official page. The structured breakdown below covers the key facts.

Key responsibilities

According to the vacancy notice, the role centres on the following duties:

  • Process and analyse data from start-ups on a portfolio level
  • Create and manage databases related to business incubation activities
  • Identify opportunities for further automation of ESA BIC data collection, processing and visualisation, including developing new approaches and dashboards
  • Prepare presentations and reports on findings
  • Perform other assignments based on operational needs of the team, for example activity coordination, supporting on-site events, conducting business research

Are you eligible?

Check these requirements from the notice before investing time in an application:

  • Education: University student, preferably in final or second-to-last year of Master's level course, with proof of enrollment for entire internship duration
  • Languages: English, French
  • Key skills: Statistics, Data analysis, Economic Key Performance Indicators for high-tech start-ups, MS Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint, Statistical software (e.g. R, PowerBI), Data automation and dashboards

Selection process

The notice describes the following selection steps:

  • Interview to explore motivation for applying to this role

Contract and working arrangements

Working arrangements: On-site, ESTEC, Noordwijk, Netherlands.

Hiring unit: Entrepreneurship & Business Incubation Office (CIP-ASB), Directorate of Commercialisation and Industry Partnership.

Position details

Reference
1452919733
Last Verified
4 November 2026

Position overview

This is the official EU Careers listing for Intern in the Commercialisation Acceleration Dept. - Entrepreneurship & Business Incubation Office at ESA based in Noordwijk (Traineeship). The vacancy reference is 1452919733.

Job Requisition ID:20978

Date Posted:1 November 2026

Closing Date:30 November 2026 23:59 CET/CEST

Publication Method:External Only

Directorate:Commercialisation and Industry Partnership

Location ESTEC, Noordwijk, Netherlands

Our team and mission

The Entrepreneurship & Business Incubation Office (CIP-ASB) represents a visible contribution to ESA’s entrepreneurial effort to boost green and digital commercialisation. By tapping into Europe’s enterprising communities, the Office is expeditiously extending the reach of European commercial space into the global economy and society at large.

In particular, the ESA Business Incubation Centre (ESA BIC) Network focuses on supporting entrepreneurs and early-stage start-ups using space related technologies and/or data.

The ESA BICs focus on three main objectives:

1. Addressing real customer needs; 2. Diversifying space as a business (New Space); 3. Focusing on the acceleration of commercial growth.

The first ESA BIC was launched in the Netherlands in 2004, which has grown into a pan-European network of 40 ESA BICs in 23 Participating States by mid-2026. The Office additionally manages the ESRIC Start-up Support Programme in Luxembourg.

The Entrepreneurship & Business Incubation Office (CIP-ASB) represents the best place for students to engage with decision-makers in industry and aspiring entrepreneurs for future engagements beyond their internships. It will also be an exciting time to join as we are implementing the new ACCESS programme adopted at the 2025 Ministerial Council.

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

Field(s) of activity for the internship

The European Space Agency (ESA) has a network of ESA Business Incubation Centres (ESA BICs) across Europe. Each year over 250 start-ups with a space-related business idea are selected for incubation, while over 2200 start-ups have been supported altogether. The ESA BICs help these start-ups to develop and grow their businesses. ESA routinely collects information about the incubatees and alumni of ESA BICs. This has been done to evaluate the socioeconomic impact of the ESA BIC supported start-ups in terms of revenue, employment and investments.

As an intern, you will have the following tasks:

- process and analyse data from start-ups on a portfolio level; - create and manage databases related to business incubation activities; - identify opportunities for further automation of ESA BIC data collection, processing and visualisation, including developing new approaches and dashboards; - prepare presentations and reports on findings; - perform other assignments based on operational needs of the team, for example activity coordination, supporting on-site events, conducting business research.

Behavioural competencies

Education

You must be a university student, preferably in your final or second-to-last year of university course at Master's level. In addition, you must be able to prove that you will be enrolled at your university for the entire duration of the internship.

Additional requirements

The working languages of the Agency are English and French. A good knowledge of one of these is required. Knowledge of another ESA Member State language is an asset.

During the interview, your motivation for applying to this role will be explored.

Knowledge and skills in one or several of the following areas are required:

- statistics; - data analysis; - economic Key Performance Indicators for high-tech start-ups; - MS Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint; - statistical software (e.g. R, PowerBI); - data automation and dashboards.

The following are considered assets:

- programming languages (e.g. Python); - experience with AI prompting.

Application timeline

This vacancy was first listed on 3 November 2026, 5 days ago.

The application deadline is 30 November 2026, 20 days from today. Late applications are not accepted, so submit through the official EU Careers portal well in advance.

Last verified against the EU Careers feed on 4 November 2026 (4 days ago).

Where to learn more

For headcount, mission, and other open vacancies at ESA see the ESA institution page; for the cost of living, correction coefficient, and other postings in Noordwijk see our Noordwijk location page.

New to EU careers? Our beginner's guide walks through entry routes, EPSO competitions, and what to prepare. For application logistics see application tips and EPSO competitions.

Career trajectory

Career progression for this grade staff is governed by Articles 44 to 46 of the Staff Regulations (consolidated text on EUR-Lex) and Annex IB on the promotion procedure. Step increases are automatic every two years (Art. 44); grade promotion is competitive, based on the appraisal exercise (Art. 45) and the Career Development Review. For roles at ESA, progression to the next grade typically takes three to five years on merit, with two-yearly step increases in between. Article 46 governs the classification at recruitment, which sets the starting step within the grade (usually step 1 for external recruits without prior EU service, step 2 or 3 where relevant professional experience is recognised).
Mobility within the institutions is encouraged via the inter-institutional and intra-institutional vacancy publication system: temporary agents who pass the probation period and reservists from EPSO laureate lists can typically apply to internal vacancies after one year of service. Lateral moves between Directorates-General reset the seniority clock for promotion only if the new post carries a different grade.

Language profile

Beyond the formal language requirements stated in the vacancy notice, the day-to-day working languages at this employer are English and French in roughly equal measure, with German appearing in some technical files. Internal meetings and most policy drafting in Brussels run in English; French remains the preferred internal language in Luxembourg-based services and parts of DG TRADE.

Application cadence

ESA has not advertised another comparable role with the same grade and subject signature in the past twenty-four months. This opening has rarely been seen on the EU Careers feed and may be the first such posting in our two-year window. Applicants who pass the eligibility checks should not assume the same profile will reopen on a predictable cadence.

Source: This job listing was sourced from the officialEU Careers portal (EPSO). First published: .

Remove ads and unlock all featuresGo Premium