From Vienna – Space Internship Blog #1

Written by Ellie Norton-Fox, Intern for the Vienna Space Internship Program for 2025

After travelling over 15 thousand kilometres, over 80 hours (combined for both myself and Claire) from the boiling heat in Australia, touching down in icy Vienna where the weather was so cold, snow began to fall, it was the not only the perfect way to spend Christmas, but a great way to relax after exams.

 My first week in Vienna was spent settling into the new city, learning their transportation systems and enjoying the various markets. My second and third were spent visiting popular attractions, museums and palaces including the infamous Schönbrunn Palace, as well as consuming the language and traditional cuisine.

After the much-needed holiday, my fellow internee and I began our 2 month long internship at the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI).

Upon arrival we were given a tour of the offices and individually introduced to each member of the team. The generously kind and funny people who welcomed us, made us feel safe, secure and as though we had been there for many years. We then sat in on the first of several meeting with researchers, directors and project heads, before being given our first assignment, which would carry over for several weeks.

Before we knew it, just as quickly as it had begun, our first day was over. The remainder of our week was contributing to our projects. In between this and engaging in pleasant lunchtime debates from food categorisation to airport security, we sought time to meet with our supervisor over dinner, and enjoy the traditional Sachertorte for dessert.

In addition to starting at ESPI this week, we also had the Jeff Bleich Centre’s Dr Leoni Connah check in with us in person, to make sure we were settling into life in Vienna and the internship.

As the week came to a close and we shut our laptops down for the weekend, we joined some of our colleagues at a local restaurant/pub for a nice chat over some drinks and snacks.

Our time in Vienna and within ESPI has been enlightening, incredible and has left us in anticipation of what the coming months have to offer.

From R to L: Hermann Ludwig Moeller (Director, ESPI), Dr Leoni Connah (Lecturer in International Relations, Flinders University), Ellie Fox (Intern), Claire Wilson (Intern), and Marco Aliberti (Associate Manager and Lead on International Engagement, ESPI)

Learn more about Flinders University’s unique Vienna Space Internship Program here.

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Internships Space Vienna Internship Program

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