Internship in Chief Scientist Office

Internship title: Exploring EUMETSAT’s Future Satellite Observation Needs at horizon 2050

EUMETSAT operates Europe’s weather and climate satellites, delivering critical data primarily to the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs), who depend on this information for daily weather forecasting and early warnings. While addressing current observational needs, EUMETSAT also actively plans and prepares for the future.

This internship focuses on the future of satellite observations, in response to the rapidly evolving context of satellite technologies and user needs. In particular:

• Evolving user needs: EUMETSAT is moving beyond the provision of weather data to supporting forecasting in a broader sense, including societal impacts such as human health, infrastructure, and the environment.
• Evolving technologies: Satellite systems are becoming more diverse, with increasing miniaturisation and the emergence of small satellite constellations.

To anticipate and respond to these changes, EUMETSAT launched several activities in collaboration with experts from its Member States to study the evolution of satellite observations and systems towards 2050.

This internship will take place within this framework, contributing directly to the development of EUMETSAT’s Future Architecture, a long-term vision for how satellite systems and services should evolve to meet user needs at horizon 2050. As part of this work, the intern will focus on a selected scientific action area identified through these studies (for example, air quality), developing a pilot case study that explores different scenarios for 2050 and assesses the role of satellite observations in addressing them.

• Conduct scientific and technical literature review and summarize the main findings;
• With the support of EUMETSAT’s experts: Draft a simplified pilot case study scenario for horizon 2050 in the selected action area. (e.g., considering how demographics, technology, climate and societal needs might evolve in different ways by 2050);

• Carry out a Preliminary Gap Assessment: Compare the scenario’s needs with existing EUMETSAT capabilities and identify potential gaps;
• Write a final report consolidating the literature review and the main findings from the pilot scenario.

• Good written and verbal communication skills in English;
• Be computer literate;
• Be intrinsically motivated and curious about the internship subject;
• Be able to work independently and collaboratively;
• Have the ability to take the initiative in researching ideas;
• Have the ability to collect, collate, conceptualize and present information clearly.

Additional specific requirements:

• Strong analytical and research skills, including the ability to review and synthesise information from diverse sources (peer-reviewed and grey literature);
• Basic understanding of current and future Earth Observation missions, or related scientific/technical fields.