
Students meet space companies
LiftOff is a job fair that occurs every year at Kiruna Space Campus focusing on space related work opportunities, arranged by students for students. – Through LiftOff, both students and companies are winning something, says Ioana-Simona Rosca, student and Project Manager for LiftOff.
The companies that participate in the event can vary every year. But the event is well-known and many of the companies in the Space field such as the European Space Agency (ESA), OHB SWEDEN, Isar Aerospace Technology, ACTAS SPACE, Arctic Business together with ESA BIC SWEDEN, IRF, EISCAT, LTU Business and Venture Cup will often attend at the event. Sometimes even special guests come to LiftOff, one year Swedens first astronaut Christer Fuglesang attended.
What happens during the event?
–The event can look different every year, because it is different students who managed it each year. But usually the companies introduced themselves and talked about student opportunities, we have also had quizzes and open panel discussions. I was the project manager for Lift-off during covid-19 and there were more than 200 students from at least nine different countries watched LiftOff on-line and additionally people such as Professors, alumni, and employees from different companies were watching as well. We also had a professional speed dating where a student had the opportunity to have a 10 minutes private talk with a company representative regarding a master thesis, an internship, or a future job. Overall, the project group did an amazing job of managing this under Covid-19, I am really proud of the LiftOff team, says Ioana-Simona Rosca.
Why is a job fair for space students so important?
– Students are usually only focusing on their studies. Once done they go directly into the industry. The problem is that most of them do not know what to expect from industry or what industry is expecting from them. Through LiftOff the students get clarifications, their questions answered, and the companies can find talented young people that can fit in their companies, says Ioana-Simona Rosca.
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