• Sapienza University of Rome (Rome, 2017)
• Prof. Sergio Marchisio talks about the ECSL Summer Course on Space Law and Policy – Radiosapienza, 4 October 2017 (for italian speakers)
• University of Messina(Messina, 2019)  

The complete list of previous Summer Courses is available here.

ECSL Summer Course on Space Law and Policy 2026

The CALL FOR APPLICATIONS for the 34th Edition is now open!

The 34th ECSL Summer Course on Space Law and Policy will be hosted by the ECSL National Point of Contact for Slovenia, the Faculty of law of the University of Ljubljana. The Course will take place from 31 August to 11 September 2026.

Information about the 2026 edition:

• Dates: Fri 31 August – Tue 11 September
• Host: Faculty of law of the University of Ljubljana (ECSL National Point of Contact for Slovenia).
• Opening of applications: 8 May 2026
• Deadline for applications: 7 June 2026 (23:59 CET).

Places are limited: The 2026 Course is open to 45 students, 5 young professionals and 6 tutors from ESA Member States, Associate Members and Cooperating States. However, as there are 23 ESA Member States, the principle of equal geographical distribution applies. Therefore, the places available for the Italian NPOC are also limited.

Eligibility criteria (who can apply)

All the following requirements must be met:

1. Students enrolled in:

• An undergraduate course and under the age of 35;
• A graduate course (e.g., Masters, LLM). In this case, there are additional requirements: the student must be under the age of 35; must not be a fully worker; must not be pursuing a PhD.

Note: The course is generally NOT open to working professionals over the age of 35 (since there are other ESA and ECSL dedicated courses).

2. Students studying law, political science (e.g., international law & organisations), economics (space sector focus) or other disciplines related to space law and policy.

Note: Applications from students with a technical background who can demonstrate an interest in space law and policy are also welcome, and a few are selected each year.

Generally, however, ESA has a dedicated “introduction to space law” course for students with a scientific, technical and engineering background. Click here for more info.

Application procedure for students

Students can only apply through their National Point of Contact (NPOC) in the country where they study, where they are citizens, or where they reside (contact ecsl@esa.int to confirm your NPOC or directly apply to the ECSL if your country has no NPOC).

You can reach the Italian NPOC at 👉 italynpoc.ecsl@uniroma1.it

Students must:

• Fill in an electronic application form;
• Save a copy of their responses;
• Provide such responses and a copy of their CV (2 pages max) to their respecting NPOC.

All the previous steps are mandatory. Applications will not be considered complete by only submitting the electronic form.

• Students should also confirm the reception of their application with the NPOC.

Supporting reference:

In order to apply, the ECSL requests the students to provide a “supporting reference” to verify the application.

Supporting references can be professors or employers (current or former). Students may also ask their respective NPOC to act as supporting reference.

The supporting reference does not need to write a letter of recommendation.

Electronic application form:

3 sections:

1. Personal information (name, date of birth, address, country of residence, phone, email).
2. Supporting reference (name, email, affiliation, professional connection between the referee and the applicant).
3. Experiences and interest:
   1. Summarise your previous experiences and/or interest in public international law/space law and policy.
   2. State your motivation for applying to this year’s edition of the summer course.
   3. Please identify one current issue related to space law or space policy that is of particular interest to you and illustrate why you consider it of importance.

Timeline for the 2026 ESA/ECSL Summer Course on Space Law and Policy

Useful links and contact details:

Do you want to know more on the Summer Course and access the Electronic Application Form? 👉 Click here!

Do you need more info on the Selection Criteria & How to Apply? 👉 Find it here!

Reach the Italian NPOC at 👉 italynpoc.ecsl@uniroma1.it