Golden Reel Challenge

The Golden Reel Challenge aims to drive knowledge transfer between highly experienced VIP’s in our space industry, the next generation of young minds looking to find their place in this field, with young professionals as a catalyst for connecting their real experiences with design-based learning and inquiry that can engage students from many backgrounds.

In essence, the talent gap is a generational gap, and what brings generations together (or sends them further apart) than culture, music, and/or art? The Golden Reel will challenge this next generation to think of what artifact/s or ideas from humanity they would like to send along with future ESA deep space missions. Which mission would they piggy-back on? Where would it go? What message would they send? Is Taylor Swift the artist that can bridge generations? Or do we need Frank Sinatra to fly us to the moon? At this moment in time we would like to pause on the idea that at the end of the day, every manmade object in space has come from people on Earth

As of today, students can announce their interest in the Golden Reel by ideating around what message they would send into the cosmos, and participating talent organizations have tickets reserved to participate in the challenge leading up to and including a VIP Workshop at the Space Tech Expo in Bremen. The challenge goes in three steps:

1. Ideate and share your message to the universe – and whether / how you’d like to receive a return message. Golden tickets will give students a spot on the bus to Bremen and within the activities in Bremen itself.
2. Young ESA will announce a pretend ‘Invitation to Tender’ around this topic, further detailing what/how participating students should further develop their ideas and build a theorhetical consortium based on companies they learn about by using Space Tech Expo in Bremen as a Campus for learning about the mechanics of collaboration in the space industry.
3. Challenge participants with golden tickets will be treated to mentorship and a VIP Workshop in Bremen, during which they will receive hands-on inputs and advice to finalise a ‘Golden Reel’ that they will record to present their final idea. They can also participate in all the activities Space Tech Expo has to offer.

Many thanks to the Space Regions of Bremen and Zuid-Holland for coordinating, as well as SpaceNed and AviaSpace industry organisations. For the VIP Workshop, all industry participation slots are spoken for. If you or your organization would like to support this challenge via mentorship or in other ways, please reach out to Laura ten Bloemendal (L.A.tenBloemendal@tudelft.nl) or Michiel Vullings (michiel.vullings@atg-europe.com) on behalf of SpaceNed Talent Commission.

To view the challenge itself, please see @goldenreelchallenge on Instagram