The event
Discover Your Space is an annually organised networking event at the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering of the TU Delft. This year it will take place in the aula of the TU Delft on the evening of Thursday December 3rd many companies active in the Dutch space sector will give a short pitch presentation through a livestream. Afterwards, there will be a networking drink at the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering so students aspiring a career in the space industry can get to know the companies they are interested in.
The organisers
Space Department (RVD)
The Space Department (Dutch: Ruimtevaartdispuut, RVD) is the body of the VSV ‘Leonardo da Vinci’ that promotes astronautics among students and employees by organising lectures, excursions and other space-related activities. Approximately two times per quarter, the Space Department organises a lecture about a space-related subject. The guest lecturers come from all over Europe, but mostly from the Benelux and talk about a variety of topics from deep-space missions such as MarsOne or grand space projects such as the Galileo project.
Next to that, every quarter the Space Department organises an excursion to a space-related company or exposition, sometimes even abroad. The goal of these excursions is to have a look inside a company, where you would normally not be allowed. Furthermore, the Space Department organises the VSV symposium every other year. The aim of this symposium is to bring students into contact with modern day issues and solutions of the industry.
Netherlands Space Society (NVR)
The Netherlands Space Society (NVR) is the leading platform for space professionals from or working in Holland. As an organisation, we are the product of a long and rich history of 65 years. We have been an advocate and representative of the innovative space sector in the Netherlands from its inception to the strong high-tech sector it is today.
We boast a network of some 1000 members – and counting. These range from students to space enthusiasts to established professionals, all of whom benefit from the varied activities an NVR membership offers. We organise community-building functions such as film nights, symposia, lectures and much more. In order to offer the very best and most diverse selection of events, we do so both independently and in collaboration with our corporate members. The space sector is one that thrives on a connected base of passionate individuals, and the NVR represents that.
VSV ‘Leonardo da Vinci’
Established in 1945, the Society of Engineering Aerospace Students ‘Leonardo da Vinci’, has grown into a mature society. It organizes many activities for its members, more than 95% of all students at the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering. The faculty is constantly growing, and growing strongly. Currently there are approximately 2500 members, making the Society of Aerospace Engineering Students the largest society of its kind in the Benelux.
The Society aims to serve the moral and material interests of aerospace students in all aspects of student life. Since 1945, this has been achieved by organizing a wide variety of activities, mostly in the field of aerospace engineering. To accomplish this, 23 committees and 4 departments organise many different activities like guest lectures, excursions, a study tour, drinks and parties. All of this happens under the supervision of 7 students, who are a full-time member of the board of our society and put their study on hold for a year to fully dedicate themselves to the society.
SpaceNed
SpaceNed is the trade organisation of the Dutch space sector. SpaceNed has about 40 members and has been active for 13 years (previously as NISO). SpaceNed has the goal to strengthen the position of the Dutch space sector and as such contribute to a dynamic and competitive sector.
SpaceNed connects the Dutch space sector – both companies and scientific institutions – to improve its position on the market. SpaceNed aims to make the full economic and societal potential of Dutch space industry thrive in strong partnership with the Dutch government.
NL Space Campus
NL Space Campus is the gateway to the Dutch Space Cluster and together with ESA’s technical heart ESTEC, the Galileo Reference Centre and the strong Dutch spacecluster that includes the Leiden-Delft-Erasmus (LDE) universities alliance, we are an important European Space Hub. NL Space Campus is located in Noordwijk, home to ESA’s technical heart, the European Space Research and Technology Center (ESTEC), the Galileo Reference Centre (GRC), SBIC Noordwijk hosting the ESA BIC programme and Space Expo. NL Space Campus offers an inspiring location to visit, meet and work.
ESA ESTEC and LDE form the knowledge anchors of NL Space Campus. Together we have many fruitful collaborations that connect students with the space sector. With somewhere around 70 companies, a mixture of start-up and scale-ups, upstream and downstream, in Noordwijk and in close proximity, more than 3000 high-tech professionals are connected to the NL Space Campus community. Together with companies in the Zuid-Holland region with important players in Leiden, Den Haag, Delft, Rotterdam, and the Amsterdam area, we form an international network and community of innovative high-tech space companies.
We connect these communities and by strengthening the community of students (societies) and young professionals we create (business) opportunities. Part of our community are interdisciplinary education programmes, masterclasses and workshops, which are important for bridging gaps between knowledge and the application of knowledge. Also for future collaborations and innovations, and to prepare talent who will work on future societal and industrial challenges.
NL Space Campus, together with ESA ESTEC and LDE universities, has partnerships with knowledge institutes such as SRON, NLR and TNO and KNMI, and valuable colleges in Den Haag, Leiden and de Leidse Instrumentmakerschool (LIS). Other universities in the Netherlands, Wageningen, Twente and Eindhoven and European Universities such as the International Space University, are welcomed to be part of our community. Also we partnered with Spacefluencers to support and provide a platform for young professionals interested in space.