Dec. 30 – Astrium is the industry leader in the European space sector; and La Sapienza is one of Italy’s oldest universities. Today, the space company – with more than 15,000 employees worldwide, mainly in France, Germany, the UK, Spain and the Netherlands – and the Rome University – with more than 700 years of history and 130.000 students – are getting closer. The Sapienza Aerospace Research Centre (CRAS), via Marcello Onofri, its director, reached an agreement with Astrium to kick off a collaboration in the field of science education in space. Signed in Paris on occasion of the annual meeting organized by Astrium on space transportation, the agreement will affect the field of research and technologies, as well as teaching and training activities in the space sector. It also provides for a long-term partnership to support high-profile training of future European space engineers. The first step of this partnership will be to provide and fund teaching positions and scholarships. Astrium will eventually also provide international experts to give lectures in the Sapienza Space Transportation Systems program. The industry will also offer internships at its offices in France and Germany.