OHB SE, one of Europe’s most prominent satellite developers, and SGAC are collaborating to support SGAC members to attend the 1st SG[Germany] to be held in Munich, Germany, in November 2020.

SG[Germany] is a one-day event in Munich dedicated to advancing the role of Germany and German industry in the space economy within the next decade.
The event intends to attract students and young professionals across Germany as participants. The program will consist of keynote speeches and panels, followed by a round of discussions where participants are split into groups and work together on proposed topics.

It has been almost 10 years since OHB started offering scholarships to young professionals and students to participate in the Space Generation Congress. This year, as the SGC is not able to take place, OHB will offer a scholarship to an SGAC member to participate in the SG[Germany], which is still planned to take place on the 14th of November in Munich.

We look forward to your submissions!

Application Deadline: 31th August,  2020, 23:59 GMT  30th September,  2020, 23:59 GMT

Description

To apply, write and submit an essay covering one of the following two topics of SG[Germany]:

1 – The role of Germany in the international space sector by 2030

OR

2 – Preparing and transforming the German space ecosystem by 2030: innovation, entrepreneurship and funding

The essay must not exceed 1500 words, and must follow the SGAC Guidelines below. Please clearly indicate which of the two topics you have chosen for the essay.

1) The role of Germany in the international space sector by 2030

Europe and Germany boast a strong space sector. This is largely the legacy of successful and remarkable space programs carried out during the past decades, particularly those on satellite navigation, earth observation and human spaceflight, mostly built upon public support. The country’s research and development performance, the increase in the national space budget and the considerable growth of German contribution towards the ESA budget committed at CMIN19+ sets a high ambition for the country to gain an even more relevant position in the European and global stage as far as space activities are concerned.

How will Germany effectively deliver on the expectation and ambition throughout the 2020s? What will German leadership look like in the years to come? What are the strategic priorities and main avenues of action? What should be accomplished in the short-term, to be better placed in the longer term?

This theme and a subsequent panel will be introduced by two keynote speakers addressing where Germany stands today regarding leadership in the space sector, and what the strategies, priorities, and ambitions should be in order to deliver upon this ambition and demonstrate effective leadership by 2030.

2) Preparing and transforming the German space ecosystem by 2030: innovation, entrepreneurship and funding

The international space context is changing fast: global competition is increasing with new entrants bringing new ambitions in space. Space activities are becoming increasingly commercial with greater private sector involvement. Major technological shifts, such as digitalisation, miniaturisation, mass production, artificial intelligence or reusable launchers, are disrupting traditional business models in the space sector and are reducing the cost of accessing and using space. The German space sector needs to adapt to seize business opportunities stemming from these changes so that Germany and Europe can keep its leadership and strategic autonomy in space

Realising these ambitions requires fostering investments, stimulating innovation and nurturing an entrepreneurial space ecosystem in Germany and its various regions. This overarching theme will be introduced by two keynotes setting up the stage for the discussion on topics of innovation, key technologies shaping the decade ahead, funding and alternative financing, and potential synergies at the intersection of space and non-space industries.

Award

The main author of the winning essay will receive an award in order to attend the following event:

• 1st SG[Germany]: 14th November 2020

The award will include provisions for travel, accommodation, and registration for SG[Germany] of up to 200€.

How to Apply

To apply, please submit your complete application using the Scholarship Submission Form. 

Your application will need to include your essay of no more than 1500 words written in English. Please submit your essay as an unlocked PDF file.  Your name should be included at the top of all pages. Your submission should follow the competition guidelines below.

Guidelines

 Eligibility

The competition is open to all students and young professionals from any country.
All individuals or team members shall be SGAC members between the ages of 18 to 35 inclusive (up to the day of their 36th birthday) on 16 October 2020.
The competition is open to individuals.
Competition organisers and judges are not eligible for this award.
Winners should not receive support from any other source to attend SG[Germany]. Should the winners receive such support midway through the program, SGAC must be informed and a solution will be sought.

Submission

1. The essay/paper is due as an unlocked PDF document under 5 MB. It shall be submitted via the Scholarship Submission Form. You will need to be logged in as an SGAC member to access the submission page.
2. The language of all submissions must be English.
3. The submission shall include original content and research.
   • Work that has already been presented at a past conference or previously submitted to this competition is not eligible.
4. The essay must not exceed 1500 words.
5. The essay should clearly indicate at the beginning which of the two topics has been selected.
6. All submissions shall be made by the 30th September,  2020, 23:59 GMT. Any submissions after the deadline will not be considered.
7. In case of lack of quality of submissions, SGAC has the right to extend and/or cancel the competition.

Responsibilities of the Winners

The winning author shall:

• Attend the SG[Germany]
• Submit a short report.
  • This can be a written document (2 pages excluding pictures), or a short video (1 minute), or a PowerPoint presentation (5 – 10 slides) describing his or her experience at SG[Germany] for inclusion on the SGAC website, newsletter or social media and that of our partners
• [optional] Present the winning essay at SG[Germany]
• Meet with the competition supporters during SG[Germany], the meeting will be organized by SGAC.

All responsibilities shall be fulfilled and reports etc. submitted no later than 15th of January 2021. In case the scholarship awardee does not complete the scholarship requirements on time, the scholarship funds will be transferred to SGAC general budget to continue supporting the mission and work of SGAC. 

Reimbursement

1. The award will be paid out after the SG[Germany], no later than 30 days after fulfilment of all responsibilities listed above.
2. The scholarship award reimbursement is conditioned on the awardee fulfilling the scholarship requirements no later than 15th of January 2021.
3. In case applicants or the winning author receive funding for SG[Germany] by any other organisation, the Scholarships Coordinators shall be informed. If the applicants don’t inform the Scholarships Coordinators, SGAC holds the right not to reimburse the winning author. SGAC aims to reduce the number of double scholarships and will work with the winners to develop a solution in these cases.
4. In the interest of spreading opportunities to more members, SGAC reserves the right to prioritise applicants who have not recently received another SGAC scholarship of a similar nature. This is defined as having received an award in the past 2 years, in the same category (either international or regional/national) as this posted award. international awards include scholarships for international events such as SGC/IAC, SGFF and Space Symposium, while regional/national awards refer to events, such as the Space Generation Workshops (SGW), national space generation events (SG[country]) or other regional or national conferences.
5. Applicants are advised not to engage any expenses until they have formal confirmation that the competition has been awarded. SGAC is not liable for any expenses incurred by applicants in any case where a competition is not awarded, or in excess of the value of the awarded grant.
6. Reimbursements will follow the SGAC Scholarships Travel Policy & Reimbursement Guidelines. Please make sure to consult the Guidelines before incurring in expenses.

 Copyright and Intellectual Property

1. By submitting an entry, applicants agree to permit SGAC and all affiliated organisers to mention their names, affiliations and headshot picture in connection with the competition.
2. Copyright of the submitted entry shall remain with the contestants. However, by submitting an entry all contestants agree that SGAC and all affiliated organisers are granted non-exclusive reproduction rights regarding all submitted papers. SGAC and all affiliated organisers may also present ideas and findings generated by this competition at relevant conferences.

Liability

1. Organisers shall not be responsible in the event that SG[Germany] is cancelled. SGAC will not reimburse the winning author, even if he/she has already incurred expenses.
2. Organisers shall not be responsible in the event that the award winner fails to attend SG[Germany] or is unable to under extenuating circumstances; in that case the award offer shall become void.
3. Organisers shall not be responsible in the event that the award winner cannot obtain any necessary travel documents; if they are required but not obtained, the award offer shall become void.

Evaluation

Evaluators will include members of the SGAC scholarship team and representatives of the scholarship supporter.

The evaluation will be made based on a point system taking following criteria and their weights into consideration:

• Demonstrated research, detail and relevance to chosen topic (40%)
• Reasoning and strength of arguments (40%)
• Structure and clarity (10%)
• Originality (10%)

Schedule

Applications open:	15th of July 2020
Applications close:	30th September 2020, 23:59 GMT
Winner announced:	30th October 2020
SG[Germany]	14th of November 2020

Contact

For any questions, please contact:

SGAC Scholarships Team Leads at [email protected].

Sponsor

SGAC would like to thank OHB for their support to run this competition.
OHB SE is Germany’s first listed space and technology company. Two business units, Space Systems and Aerospace and Industrial Products, offer international customers sophisticated solutions and systems.
With over 35 years of experience in high technology together with its integrated skills in the areas of space technology and telematics, OHB Group is ideally positioned as one of the leading independent forces in the European space, aeronautics and telematics industry. It comprises more than 2200 space professionals around Europe (OHB Italia, OHB Sweden, LuxSpace, Antwerp Space, MT Aerospace, OHB System). OHB System, the major company in OHB SE, is one of the three leading space systems integrators in Europe. Located at two sites ‎in ‎Germany – Bremen and Munich – it has more than three decades of experience, ‎specialising ‎in high technology solutions for astronautics, science, earth observation and ‎industry. ‎Programmes include low-orbiting, geostationary satellites and payloads for Earth ‎observation, ‎navigation, telecommunications, science and interplanetary space exploration as ‎well as ‎systems for human spaceflight, aerial reconnaissance and process control. ‎OHB SE itself has proven to be a reliable partner for the different national agencies, ESA, and ‎the ‎wider scientific community.
More information at: www.ohb.de and www.ohb-system.de

If you or your organisation is interested in providing talented students and young professionals with the opportunity to share their work and ideas with the global space community, please contact competition coordinators ([email protected]).