LDE Space Challenge, 2025-2026 - Studiegids

Please note: the text below is subject to minor changes.

Dit vak wordt alleen in het Engels aangeboden.

Admission requirements

This course is part of the LDE Space & Society Honours Programme (Leiden-Delft-Erasmus) and is therefore only open to students from Leiden University, Erasmus University, and TU Delft that are enrolled in this.

Topics

Application of interdisciplinary knowledge to real-world space challenges through collaborative problem-solving, innovation, and systems thinking. Emphasis on translating academic insights into actionable solutions with societal relevance.

Disciplines

Space Applications & Exploration
Space Business & Innovation
Space Law, Governance & Society
Space Engineering & Technology

Skills

Analysing
Generating solutions
Project-based working
Collaborating
Oral communication
Societal awareness

Number of students

Minimum of 35 and maximum 60.

Description

During the Space Challenge, students from various backgrounds will work in small teams on real-life interdisciplinary space challenges. These challenges address problems faced by the space sector in current and future space activities or questions for which the space sector requires an immediate solution.

An example a challenge could be to address the growing risk stemming from space debris, reflect on the safety of human spaceflight, draft a plan for international exploration of the Moon or Mars, or create a plan for monitoring climate change measures from space.

The students will learn how to apply the knowledge obtained during the LDE Space Fundamentals and Interactions, through an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approach to researching and addressing the questions posed by the challenge. Through this process, the students will develop novel and actionable solutions to the real-world problems.

A successful outcome of the Space Challenge would result to a clear iterative improvement of the questions raised, where the student teams continuously develop their understanding of the problem, and work on broadening their search for its solution. In terms of output, a successful result would be to propose new approaches and solution prototypes for relevant stakeholders.

Course objectives

Work effectively in interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary teams.
Analyse a real-life problem of the space sector from multiple perspectives.
Identify the relevant concepts from the disciplines introduced during the Space Fundamentals & Interactions and apply them to the challenge in a way that contributes to its solutions.
Combine insights from different disciplines to substantiate the design of solutions to the challenge.
Present the challenge outcome effectively, in oral and written form.

Programme and timetable

Classes run from 19:00 to 21:00 hrs. on Wednesdays. Sessions will take place on different locations at Leiden University, TU Delft, and Erasmus University.

The programme will include sessions of the following types:

Face-to-face coordination meetings with the student team
Student team meetings with the team's supervising instructor
Enrichment sessions designed to deepen the understanding of problem solving and project management through thematic discussions and hands-on activities
Progress meetings for receiving and giving feedback among the student teams and the supervising instructors:
- Problem statement review
- Mid-term review
- Final review
Meetings with relevant stakeholders at a frequency depending on their availability and the topic of the specific challenge
Presentation of the Space Challenge before the students, instructors and potentially invited experts

Dates - Wednesdays 19:00 - 21:00
Locations will alternate between four locations: Leiden University (Leiden and The Hague), Erasmus University (Rotterdam), and TU Delft (Delft). Students should be prepared to travel for these sessions.

Reading list

Readings related to the topics of the student teams' work will be announced in class or via Brightspace.

Course load and teaching method

This course is worth 8 ECTS, which means the total course load equals 224 hours:

10 sessions divided over 13 weeks of = 2 hours weekly (participation is mandatory)
Review sessions:
- Problem statement review: 4 hours
- Mid-term review: 2 hours
- Final review: 2 hours
Study/research time (incl. working on the final report and the final presentation): 10 hours/week
Final Public presentations: 4 hours

Assessment methods

Students will be evaluated through participation and performance during the Space Challenge sessions, the final presentation of the Space Challenge, the final report of the Space Challenge.

Students will be assessed as a team for the participation and performance, the final presentation, and the final report. The team grade will be adjusted to an individual grade, following peer review from the team and assessment from the instructor. Students will receive a grade of 1-10, with a passing grade of 6. In case of a failing grade, students will be asked to submit and implement an improvement plan to reach a passing grade.

Please note the attendance requirement for this course. During the challenge, students are allowed to miss one session at most and with prior explanation. The absence cannot occur during the problem statement review, mid-term review, final review and the final presentations of the challenge.

Brightspace

The Brightspace environment of Leiden University will be used for this course. Students will be enrolled to the Brightspace module by the administration of the course.

Registration process

To participate in this course, you need to apply for the LDE Space & Society Honours Programme. The application for 2025-2026 is open from 1 September (9:00 hrs) until 5 October (22:00 hrs) through the Honours Academy of Leiden University. The application form will be published on their student website.

Please note that it is not possible to follow (part of) this programme online.
Please note that students are not required to register through uSis for this course. Registration will be done centrally.

Contact

Programme coordinator: Dr. Dimitra Stefoudi, LDESpaceSocietyHonours@ha.leidenuniv.nl.