Europlanet Industry–Academia Pairing Scheme Pilot 
Call for Early-Career Participants 

Call open now

Deadline for Applications – 26 October 2026

Europlanet is launching a pilot Industry–Academia Pairing Scheme offering selected early-career participants the opportunity to spend up to one working week at an industrial host organisation. The scheme is designed to provide first-hand exposure to the practices, expectations, timelines and constraints of working in the space industry, while creating new links between companies and the planetary science community. The intention is not to prescribe a rigid programme, but to provide a structured short-term immersion in a real industrial working environment. 

Call at a glance:  Deadline: 26 October 2026  |  Visits: between 16 November and 18 December 2026, according to mutual availability  |  Duration: 3-5 working days  |  Funding: eligible costs up to €900  |  Number of funded pairings: at least three planned

View the full list of host organisations >>

What the scheme aims to achieve 

• Build stronger links among Europlanet’s academic, industrial and early-career communities. 

• Give early-career researchers direct experience of industrial working environments and career pathways. 

• Help participants understand industrial expectations, constraints, project timescales and ways of working. 

• Enable industrial hosts and academic researchers to explore mutual interests and possible future collaborations in a low-risk setting. 

• Test practical aspects of a larger-scale future programme, including candidate matching, administration, intellectual property and confidentiality issues. 

What a pairing visit may involve 

Activities will depend on the host organisation, the selected participant’s background and the objectives agreed for the visit. Examples may include: 

• An introduction to the host organisation, its teams, workflows, products or services relevant to planetary science and space activities. 

• Shadowing or joining appropriate team meetings, technical discussions or project activities, subject to confidentiality and access constraints. 

• Exchanging scientific or technical expertise with the host team. 

• Discussing how academic skills can translate into industrial roles and how industry frames technical problems, schedules and deliverables. 

• Exploring areas of potential future collaboration, without any obligation on either party to establish one. 

The exact programme will be agreed between the host and participant. Access to particular meetings, facilities, data or projects may be restricted where commercially sensitive or confidential information is involved. 

Who can apply? 

Applicants should meet the following eligibility requirements: 

• Be a Europlanet member (as an individual or through your organisation) at the time of application and agree to abide by the Europlanet Code of Conduct.

• Be a Master’s or doctoral student, or an early-career planetary scientist/space professional whose most recent degree (e.g., MSc, PhD or equivalent qualification) was obtained no more than 7 years before the application deadline, allowing for career interruptions due to personal circumstances. 

• Be eligible to travel to the host country and undertake a pairing visit of between three and five working days between 16 November and 18 December 2026 (visa invitation letters cannot be provided). 

Pairing principles 

Where possible, participants will be matched with an industrial host in a country other than the country in which they currently work. This is intended to encourage new cross-border pairings and to maximise the creation of new professional links across the Europlanet community. Applicants should also declare any existing collaboration, substantial prior connection with available hosts, or challenges in travelling to specific countries. Such connections or challenges will be taken into account when making the final pairings. 

Financial support 

Europlanet will reimburse eligible costs associated with the pairing visit, up to a maximum of €900 per participant. This may include economy travel, accommodation and subsistence (meals and other incidental expenses up to €50 per day), subject to submission by email of the required receipts and reimbursement form by 31 December 2026. A limited additional contribution may be considered in exceptional cases, subject to availability within the overall pilot budget. 

What Europlanet expects from selected participants 

• Agree the visit objectives and practical arrangements with the host and Europlanet. 

• Respect all host requirements concerning confidentiality, safety, intellectual property and workplace access. Host organisations might require participants to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA). 

• Participate actively in the agreed pairing activities. 

• Complete a short post-visit report (1,000–1,500 words) evaluating the experience, its benefits and limitations, and providing feedback and recommendations to inform the future development and possible scale-up of the scheme.   

• Deliver an online presentation at a suitable Europlanet event (e.g., Teams Day, EPEC week, or EPSC). 

• Participate in a six-month follow-up survey to help Europlanet evaluate the impact of the pilot and decide whether/how to scale it up. 

How applications will be considered 

• Motivations for participating and clarity of expected career-development benefit. 

• Potential fit between the applicant’s expertise/interests and the available industrial host(s). 

• Potential for meaningful two-way knowledge exchange during a short placement. 

• Evidence that the pairing would create a meaningful new industry–academia connection. 

• Practical feasibility, including availability and ability to travel within the visit period. 

• Where applications are otherwise comparable, the panel may also consider the contribution of the selection to widening participation, geographical balance and diversity within the Europlanet community.  

The selection will take place in two stages. In the first stage, applications will be reviewed and shortlisted by a selection panel comprising representatives from relevant Europlanet governance bodies, committees and networks. Appropriate measures will be taken to identify and manage any conflicts of interest. 

In the second stage, shortlisted applicants will be invited to a short online interview involving representatives of the relevant host organisations. The interviews will help identify the strongest applicant–host matches, taking into account the interests and expectations of both the applicants and the hosts, before the final pairings are selected. 

How to apply 

Complete the online application form by 26 October 2026. Applications should be submitted in English. 

Questions about the call: Luca Montabone (Europlanet Executive Board Member) – lmontabone@paneureka.org