By: Nana Appiah Acquaye
The
European Space Policy Institute (ESPI) has renewed its Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) with Flinders University for an additional three years,
extending a partnership first established in 2023.
ESPI
said the renewed agreement will continue to support collaborative research,
academic exchanges and joint initiatives between Europe and Australia, while
introducing new mechanisms for knowledge exchange.
A
key component of the cooperation is the ESPI–Flinders traineeship programme,
which enables students from the Jeff Bleich Centre at Flinders University in
Adelaide to undertake placements at ESPI’s headquarters in Vienna. The
programme offers participants an 8 to 12-week attachment focused on space
policy, space law and space governance.
As
part of this year’s traineeship cycle, ESPI hosted Jessie Hill, who contributed
to research activities within the institute’s Exploration and Science division.
ESPI noted that the placement provided hands-on experience in policy-oriented
research related to the space sector.
Under
the renewed MoU, ESPI will also launch a new research fellowship programme. The
initiative will allow ESPI researchers to spend up to six weeks annually in
Adelaide, with the objective of strengthening bilateral collaboration and
advancing joint research projects.
The
institute said the expanded framework is designed to deepen institutional ties,
reinforce cooperation between the European and Australian space policy
communities, and support the development of future space professionals.
