Launch of the Île-de-France Space Academy at UPEC
Space accessible to all: a look back at the successful launch of the Île-de-France Space Academy at UPEC
The organizers and speakers at the launch conference for the Île-de-France Space Academy at UPEC © Kevin Drzewiecki
On February 3, the Île-de-France Space Academy1 was launched at UPEC in front of a packed auditorium. The event brought together nearly 150 students and staff from different parts of the university. It was an opportunity for them to discover the many career opportunities currently available in the space sector and to understand how the Space Academy and UPEC can help them seize these opportunities.
Right from the start of the conference, the organizers wanted to make a lasting impression: UPEC is a real launch pad for space exploration. Through a fun and surprising interactive quiz, the audience discovered the many contributions made by the university's researchers to some of the most iconic exploration missions through its laboratories, including LISA2: the Mars rover, comet study probes, exploration of Titan's atmosphere, research conducted aboard the International Space Station, and observation of Earth from space.
This scientific excellence also feeds into UPEC's courses, with several specialized master's degrees that are unique in France and ambitious educational projects, such as the construction of a nanosatellite by students at the UPEC3 Space Campus, which is scheduled to be launched into orbit in the near future.
This commitment by UPEC to the space sector was reiterated by its president, Karine Bergès, who opened the conference. She highlighted the particular challenges facing the university: “We have a dual responsibility: to train highly skilled professionals and to ensure that these courses are accessible to as many people as possible.”
She particularly emphasized the importance of promoting equal opportunities and diversity, encouraging everyone to be bold and “open up all possibilities.” Echoing the testimony of Erika Vélio, an engineer in the space sector (notably at Arianespace and Airbus) and guest of honor at the conference (see our box), the president also invited women to fully embrace careers in the space industry in all its diversity. The future of space, she reminded her audience, cannot be built without them.
Round table discussion at the launch conference of the Île-de-France Space Academy at UPEC © Kevin Drzewiecki
Participants were then invited to explore the major transformations in the space sector during a round table discussion bringing together several specialists. Participants included Hervé Cottin, professor of astrochemistry at LISA within UPEC and specialist in space exploration missions; Grâce Léa Mbadinga, a doctoral student in law at the Île-de-France Space Academy, working on the geopolitical and legal issues surrounding space; and Marie Anne Zakin, an educational engineer at the Space Academy, who has compiled an inventory of changing needs and skills in this field.
The discussions highlighted the profound changes taking place in the space sector, which is now open to a much wider range of profiles than before. Of course, technical skills remain essential. Speakers particularly emphasized the acceleration of production cycles thanks to small satellites, as well as the growing importance of artificial intelligence and software development.
But they also pointed out that space missions have always been highly multidisciplinary, involving scientific, technical, legal, and economic expertise, and that this dimension has been further reinforced with the rise of space services. Earth observation, global connectivity, environmental monitoring: these are all rapidly developing fields, driven in part by the arrival of numerous private players in what is now known as New Space.
The organizers' message is clear: space is now vast enough to accommodate a wide variety of talents. The Île-de-France Space Academy, which brings together eight internationally renowned universities in the Paris region, has the specific mission of helping students and researchers identify, develop, and promote these skills.
At UPEC, “the Academy is the gateway to space that anyone interested in this field should explore,” enthuses Juan Cuesta, head of the Île-de-France Space Academy at UPEC and lecturer-researcher at LISA.
Juan Cuesta, Head of the Île-de-France Space Academy at UPEC © Kevin Drzewiecki
The Academy positions itself as an open ecosystem dedicated to training and research. It currently offers around 30 courses covering a wide range of space-related disciplines, including technology, engineering, digital technology, IT, health, law, and business. University degrees and specific teaching units have also been created to raise awareness of the challenges facing the space sector among students from generalist backgrounds.
At UPEC, the international master's degree in Satellite Systems and Applications (SSA)4 was launched two years ago in partnership with Cape Peninsula University of Technology in South Africa. This joint program allows students to benefit from both UPEC's expertise in space sciences and CPUT's expertise in space engineering and technologies. French and South African students follow the courses simultaneously thanks to dedicated classrooms equipped with digital broadcasting devices.
The Academy also helps to build a genuine space community in the Paris region. It organizes numerous events open to all students and staff from the eight partner universities, including workshops, conferences, and seminars led by industry experts.
Students can also participate in hackathons and innovation challenges, such as Definspace 20255 or the serious game Concepto6, dedicated to the design of innovative space systems, onboard instrumentation, or space stations.
One-week themed schools are also offered, including the Junior Space Academy7 dedicated to careers in space. In June 2026, UPEC will also organize the first edition of its summer school “Build your satellite in five days,” designed in partnership with other universities in the Academy (registration link). : https://forms.office.com/e/0i8Z6p36ga?origin=lprLink).
The Academy strongly supports mobility and internationalization through scholarships for international students enrolling in its courses or laboratories, as well as financial assistance for internships abroad: Call for applications 2025/2026: international mobility scholarships - Île-de-France Space Academy. Educational trips are also organized, including visits to European space agencies and participation in international conferences in the sector.
To date, more than fifty full or partial doctoral scholarships and more than twenty-five work-study contracts have been funded by the Academy. UPEC is also preparing to launch a call for applications for the creation of a one-year space chair, as well as for the hosting of industry experts—two per year—for one-month stays.
Finally, the Academy supports the development of educational platforms dedicated to space, such as CRITISC, which is devoted to the design, production, integration, and testing of space instruments and CubeSats at UPEC.
Whether you are a student, researcher, engineer, or university staff member, if you want to take on the challenge of space exploration, the Île-de-France Space Academy can help you. Feel free to contact its team for more information.
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Erika Vélio
Exchange between Erika Vélio and a student during the launch conference for the Île-de-France Space Academy at UPEC © Kevin Drzewiecki
As guest of honor at the conference, Erika Vélio did not simply recount her professional career. She recounted a journey marked by distance, determination, and deliberate detours.
But her path has not been straightforward. After becoming a mother, she decided to become a physics and chemistry teacher. For several years, she has been mentoring students who are passionate about science but who, like her once, do not yet know how to turn their dreams into a career.
This led her to Airbus in the Netherlands, where she worked on NASA's Artemis program, which aims to send the first woman to the moon.
But what she wants to convey to students can be summed up in one simple idea: paths are never perfectly straight. “When you want to turn a dream into reality, you have to be a good captain: stay on course, but also know how to tack with the wind.”
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More info :
Académie Spatiale d’Île-de-France : Académie Spatiale d'Île-de-France Ensemble pour un nouvel espace durable pour tous et toutes
Ecole d’été « Build your own satellite in 5 days », lien d’inscription : https://forms.office.com/e/0i8Z6p36ga?origin=lprLink
Appel à candidatures bourses de mobilités internationales : Appel à candidatures 2025/2026 : bourses de mobilités internationales - Académie Spatiale d'Île-de-France
Campus Spatial UPEC : Campus Spatial UPEC
Master Génie Industriel parcours International Systèmes satellitaires et applications : Master Génie Industriel parcours International Systèmes satellitaires et applications
Organization of the launch of the Ile-de-France Space Academy at UPEC:
Charlotte Edy, cheffe de projet de l’Académie Spatiale d’Île-de-France à l’UPEC : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Eric Hamonou, expert et animateur scientifique de l’événement (Science Partners) : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Juan Cuesta, responsable de l’Académie Spatiale d’Île-de-France à l’UPEC : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
1 À propos de l’Académie Spatiale d’IDF - Académie Spatiale d'Île-de-France
2 Laboratoire Interuniversitaire des Systèmes Atmosphériques : Accueil ; Laboratoire d’Algorithmique, Complexité et Logique : Page d'accueil du LACL ; Laboratoire Images, Signaux et Systèmes Intelligents : LiSSi – Le Laboratoire Images, Signaux et Systèmes Intelligents ; Institut universitaire et de technologie
3 Campus Spatial UPEC
4 Master Génie Industriel parcours International Systèmes satellitaires et applications
5 Hackathon DefInSpace 2025 – 24h pour imaginer la défense spatiale de demain - Académie Spatiale d'Île-de-France
6 Serious Game CONCEPTO – Space Design Station - Académie Spatiale d'Île-de-France
7 [REGISTRATION OPEN] June 2026: Summer school for undergraduate student – Junior Space Academy #3 - Académie Spatiale d'Île-de-France