ESA and AfSA Advance Space Cooperation Through Joint Space Systems Engineering Training
From 7 to 10 October 2025, Europe and Africa deepened their growing partnership in the space sector during the Space Systems Engineering Training Course, held at the ESA Education Training and Learning Facility at ESEC-Galaxia in Belgium. The programme brought together young engineers from both continents to strengthen technical competence and foster collaboration in space systems development.
The training was conducted within the framework of the Africa-EU Space Partnership Programme (AESPP), a flagship initiative of the Global Gateway, funded by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for International Partnerships (DG INTPA). Co-implemented by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the African Space Agency (AfSA), the AESPP aims to enhance cooperation across the entire space value chain, including satellite design and manufacturing, data utilisation, and institutional capacity development.
This year’s session convened 30 participants from 24 nationalities, including 13 from African countries. Their participation symbolised more than the exchange of technical expertise; it represented the consolidation of a strategic educational alliance between Europe and Africa, founded on shared ambitions for sustainable and inclusive space development.
“This training goes beyond engineering,” remarked Nigel Savage, ESA Academy Training Administrator. “It’s about creating the conditions for genuine partnership, where expertise, opportunities, and visions are shared across continents.”
From AfSA’s perspective, the course underscored the importance of human capital as the cornerstone of Africa’s growing role in global space activities. “Every investment in infrastructure or technology must be matched, and even surpassed by investment in people,” stated Hamdi Kacem of AfSA. “For AfSA, this collaboration marks a milestone in advancing African capacity building within the global space community.”
The curriculum covered key aspects of space systems engineering, including requirements engineering, mission architecture, budgeting, and risk management. Furthermore, a highlight of the programme was a hands-on simulation exercise, designed to reproduce the time and resource pressures encountered in real-world space projects. Through this interactive experience, participants strengthened their skills in teamwork, critical analysis, and decision-making—hallmarks of effective mission management in the space domain.
A participant from Liberia reflected on the course’s impact: “Participating in the ESA Academy Space Systems Engineering Training Course provided practical knowledge in mission design, payload analysis, and systems engineering. As Liberia’s representative, I enhanced technical, teamwork, and leadership skills through collaboration with international participants.”
Through expert mentorship from ESA professionals and a practice-oriented approach, the trainees concluded the programme equipped with solid technical foundations and a deeper appreciation for international cooperation in space. Yet, beyond technical proficiency, the initiative served as an exercise in space diplomacy through education, demonstrating how knowledge exchange can reinforce strategic ties between continents.
Building on this success, ESA and AfSA plan to expand their joint training programmes under the AESPP, focusing on emerging areas of New Space engineering, research collaboration, and technology transfer. Each successive training cycle reinforces the same principle: the future of space exploration will be inclusive, interconnected, and collaborative.
With every new cohort of young professionals trained under this partnership, one message resonates clearly: Europe and Africa are engineering a shared future among the stars.
This article was originally published on the European Space Agency’s website on November 4, 2025. Read the original article here.