SPP1 - Tomas Hrozensky
Transcript
[00:00:00] Andy: Hello, space policy enthusiasts Welcome to the Space Policy Pioneers Podcast. My name is Andy Williams and I'm the Director of Science in Space, a niche space policy consultancy firm. On this podcast, we'll talk to leading space policy experts and hear their informative and inspirational career stories to help you, the listener, learn about the different career paths in space policy and the skills you need to be successful.
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This podcast is for informational purposes only and is not legal or investment advice.
Our guest today is Dr. Thomas Hrozensky, senior researcher and European Engagement lead at the European Space Policy Institute. Welcome to the Space Policy Pioneers podcast, Thomas.
[00:01:28] Tomas: Thank you for having me, Andy. It's a real pleasure to be here.
[00:01:32] Andy: Great. Yeah. So Thomas, the European Space Policy Institute or ESPI is keeping track of the latest issues in space policy. Now it seems that in the past decade or so, we've undergone this kind of rapid change in the space sector. So from your view, what are some of the major space policy issues present now and what are future space policy professionals going to be dealing [00:02:00] with in the next decade?
[00:02:02] Tomas: I guess it's really a matter of what perspective, or what hat do you have when you look at the space sector. Because eventually when you work mostly with public policy as is the case in my profession you can really work on different aspects of the access to and use of space, and then you sort of try to prioritize different things.
So, I mean, if you work mostly on some of the economic aspects, you can argue that one of the big changes that we are seeing in the recent years in the space sector is this kind of a whole notion of how we can do business in space or space commercialization. There has been, we have seen really a stark amount of new startups companies that are rather small or recently engaged, either doing upstream or downstream activities in space resulting from a lower costs associated with traveling to space or using space data if you're focused on the downstream part and then whole other, a lot of trends is basically getting [00:03:00] linked to that. So you have things such as, you know, the private investment in space, which is something which hasn't been so common and so high in the past, but now we are really seeing accelerated investment for it. Although, you know, some of my colleagues at ESPI would argue that there are also some indications that it's not an everlasting or ever growing curve. And then some things are probably going to stabilize or to go down as well.
If you focus on space diplomacy, if you focus on issues, which are also very specifically addressed in the media, such as you know space debris. Then you can argue that we have a problem in space. That is a problem of keeping the space safe, operational environment, and a sustainable operational environment in the longer term.
If you're focused on, you know, the international cooperation in space, you can argue that one of the highest or the most visible trends in recent years has been the growth of spacefaring nations by themselves if you look at the kind of the economic rankings of the developed nations. So maybe the less developed and emerging countries are becoming spacefaring nations, but also the level of ambition that we are seeing continue to grow rapidly and continue to grow rapidly also in countries that maybe that do not have such a long history or such a long heritage in conducting space.
So just as an example, what I would say it's kind of a hard to say there isn't like one overarching trend. It really depends what you're focused on and all of those issues. I mean, you stated the question having in mind, what are some of the interesting policy trends?
All of these trends do have a link to how the public policy or so the organized activity of a public stakeholders name, mostly the government is organized. All of those trends, I think, have an impact of how public policy is made.
And maybe a final point: it's not just a matter of how space policy is being made, because what we are seeing right now and what I believe we will be continuously [00:05:00] seeing more and more is how space technologies have impact or have benefits on other policy domains or other industrial sectors is this enabling, transversely enabling function of space that I think will continue to be more and more visible for other policy domains, such as; green climate action or sustainability, energy transition, mobility, health.
We have seen already applications being developed to support activities in those other sectors, but I think we will more and more see a policy action that will integrate space and that will integrate the benefits that space technologies provide in support of those policy domains in support of those other sectors and thus improve the kind of the socioeconomic standing in life.
I believe this is the future that awaits space and space community at large.
[00:05:58] Andy: So we've got [00:06:00] the impacts and the benefits of space and space technology being kind of more integrated into our daily lives. We've got the growing commercialization and we've got the rising ambition, as you mentioned, of many more countries to get into the field.
And, I was just thinking recently about the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, you know, it's now past a hundred member states. It's the most numerous, or at least one of the most numerous UN committees. But what about the fundamental rule sets that we have at the moment?
I mean, is it, in your view, is it enough to be able to govern all these new activities?
[00:06:38] Tomas: Yeah. That's indeed the question that I think you have a variety of views on that. One thing that when I discussed this with friends or, you know, my family, the people that are outside of the space sector and which often actually gets exposed to the problems of “oh I'm reading so much about how there is so much debris and how we are not able to access the space.”
[00:07:00] So the example that I tried to often bring in this discussion, it's the difficulty of setting up some kind of a hard threshold about what we can do in space and to what extent we can do it so that basically what we do in space collectively as a human kind can remain sustainable. Let's put it like that.
And so what I have in mind here is the notion of managing something. So there is a lot of discussion about space traffic management as a concept that is being developed at this moment, starting more as an academic thinking, has been also later developed into an actual policy document, like within the European Union or United States in the recent years.
And so what I have in mind is an analogy with how the aviation or air transportation has developed. And in history, maybe five, six, seven decades ago, the number of flights has been [00:08:00] rather low or much lower than is it today and the mechanisms for managing that have needed to improve in order to be able to accommodate the growing or surging air traffic.
So maybe with the mechanisms of technical measures or safety and regulatory measures, which have been put in place in the 1950s, they have probably not be able to manage the frequency and the cadence of air traffic the way how the actual cadence is. Not today. We have to improve that. We have to improve that through regulatory procedures, maybe some safety protocols and through an actual technical means of being able to monitor something and manage something.
And I think in the space sector, we are somewhere there, but not yet being able due to the technical challenges, not yet being able to develop such a system. And so there, I would say, as we move on as a humanity in the future, the capacity of what [00:09:00] we can know, how much we can put in space, how we can behave in space will also develop hand in hand or in a very close relationship with the technical means of how can we observe things in space and how we can ensure that if we are seeing an object moving in space, we have a very precise and accurate measurement of the trajectory of that object. That, which is something that we don't really have now, things are improving in various fronts, but there is still a large level of uncertainty.
And so if we know better where things are, we have a better precision of the overall measurement. We can put more things in space. And I think this is really the focus where maybe the international diplomatic community is not that deeply engaged with. And I think it's okay because, for that there are some technical committees or some technical bodies which are exposed to that.
What I'm a bit worried about and where I would like to see that discussion is the actual technical discussion. So sometimes, and this is not just a problem of the space sector, we [00:10:00] get, you mentioned the Committee on the Peaceful Use of Outer Space, then we get the COPOUS or maybe other frameworks, other multilateral bodies being heavily impacted by the broader kind of geopolitical environment.
And we are seeing that and as I repeat again, not just in the space sector, that reaching a consensus in today's world seems to be very challenging exercise and especially if you're within the United Nations the consensus in lots of activities remains the decisive factor. And if we cannot reach it, maybe there are other ways how we can do it.
It doesn't diminish the role that the COPUOS or UN framework played that collectively, but it also opens up the door to other types of activities that can bring comparable or even higher benefits, perhaps just by focusing on the technical means of how we can measure, observe and manage what we do in space.
[00:10:51] Andy: Yeah. So I think you're exactly right. This need to inform policymaking with the real technical details, as you've explained, we're really [00:11:00] now seeing this play out in the space sector and the issue of space traffic management. And this is an area where I think that, yeah, there needs to be a lot more work.
And then also you've touched on the aspect of space diplomacy. I mean, this is a really burgeoning area. I think having people that are specialized in the details of the space issues now going to these diplomatic forums and negotiating on behalf of states around these issues. So that's something really interesting.
Yeah, so I think there's many new types of roles that are coming in the future for space policy enthusiasts. And you also started out your answer earlier about making a comparison with the aviation sector. And I think, this is, something also important to emphasize, right, that some aspects of the space sector problems have already been covered in other sectors. Even if you're not in the space sector, the experience that you might have from solving these problems in other [00:12:00] sectors is something that could be transferable over to the situation.
So. Let's talk about your career path on that note, Tomas. So can you talk us briefly through your journey and what were the drivers for you to seek out a career in space policy?
[00:12:19] Tomas: I guess I was one of those people who from early childhood was interested in space in general, you know, reading through encyclopedias and books with lots of nice pictures, let's put it like that. It sparks the curiosity, imagination, and fascination in many children, which was also my case. Interestingly, eventually after my high school, I decided to pursue a university education in international affairs, diplomacy and security studies.
I think those were like the three big themes of the program at the university, which I went through because that was also my other interest. And the specific way [00:13:00] how I, let's say, became re-exposed to the space sector was I think in the third semester it was a course which was called International Relations. Now very generally, it had like, each semester there was one very generic course International Relations on different things. And they were supposed to write like a seminar paper, like a 10 pager, let's put it like that. And our teacher at that time, he gave us an option to freely choose a topic, you know, whatever.
And throughout our early years at the university, we were recommended by our professors that a good way, how to get the job after you finish with your studies is to specialize in something. And I still had that in the back of my mind. So I started thinking about what I can do. What is the topic that I like?
And somehow space emerged again in the somewhere in my mind that I remember reading something about, the space race in the Cold War. And so I researched it a little bit. It seemed there was a lot [00:14:00] of connection with politics. There was connection how space supports national prestige, national power.
So I started exploring some of those topics and I came across the thing of, you know, space law or governing activities in space. And I thought there is ample material to actually write something about it. So I proposed the topic to my teacher. He said it's a very good topic.
He let me. He allowed me to write the paper on that. I think at that time it was something on very generic something with the international relations in space in the perspective of the US Soviet competition in the Cold War. And ever since that semester I basically became hooked again to the topic of space, now, mostly from the social science perspective. And it, and stayed with me throughout my university studies. And luckily enough, I was actually able to land the job after I finished with my university studies with my current employer, which is the European Space Policy Institute.
So there was a very one specific moment in my career where [00:15:00] I realized that you can connect social sciences, name your specialization. For me, it was international relations and I did my own not too complicated research seeing you can connect this and I'm grateful for my teachers at the university that they were kind enough of allowing such, I would argue, an exotic field at the time, to connect international relations and space and actually have enough material that you can actually continue writing different papers over your university studies, your bachelor, your diploma thesis.
In my case, also a doctoral PhD thesis. So, that's something which I understand was not granted was also especially at the university, which did not have any specialization that field, maybe with some of the teachers have really like very specific partial knowledge about the social science dimension of space, either through space law or through like geopolitics of space through some theories. And I'm [00:16:00] really grateful that they recognize that's maybe something which has a future that can be explored, leveraged and exploited. And that's how my career path into space started. So throughout my university studies, it was the generic focus of the program that I was in, was on something broader, either international relations or security studies. And wherever I could, I tried to find an opportunity to do some research or to do some writing about space topics.
And I was, I say that was likely enough that it was a right alignment of stars that I actually landed the job at ESPI and I have stayed there ever since.
Andy: Yeah, I mean, it's something that we're starting to see more now is that different university departments are actually creating specializations in various aspects of space policy, whether that is public policy or international relations or security. So it's growing, and I think there's always been a strong kind [00:17:00] of disciplinary focus on space law but obviously that's has a particular kind of flavor to it. It's coming out of the legal studies, but yeah, in this social science world, I think it's a subject that's starting to grow.
So this is something that people actually struggle with quite a bit, about whether to do a PhD or not? There's various pros and cons and opportunity costs. So I mean, in your case, what was really the deciding factor for you about choosing a PhD?
[00:17:29] Tomas: I mean, at that time, when I was finishing my master's program I was thinking about what next and I still liked writing or the future of my professional life in academia was something that I was considering. And I guess a cultural dimension that we can maybe bring in a little bit is that I did my PhD in my home country in Slovakia, where I guess like most of maybe Central and European countries, there is this tendency that if you're thinking about the future in academia, you basically do the PhD [00:18:00] right after you finished with maybe a master's program, provided the university that you want to allow that–and that was my case as well. I was also kind of interested in being able to focus much more on research and writing at that stage. So, pursuing a PhD program felt like that's the right thing to do.
Now in the retrospective, I mean, one thing when I also engage with maybe other people in the space sector, and we've had these discussions about doing a doctoral program. I realized, eventually, that if I were to do it again. I think I would have benefited from having a prior work exposure in the sector. I think for the social science, for a person with a social science background, I would argue that being only exposed to an academic environment through your studies–and I did not really have a real work exposure, mostly through some short [00:19:00] term internships– I think it did not open up my mind or my thinking as much as actually being exposed to the real life in the sector.
And for me that transition from after the PhD to work was quite significant. I went to a think tank. Basically, the work that we do at ESPI tries not to be that concentrated on academic writing or some kind of a basic scientific thinking about space. That's a really an applied research at the policy think tank, specifically looking at what we can do, the ideation, the recommendations, providing the informed views can actually support a real policy making a national or European level in Europe, how, what we do can make public policy more impactful and more effective.
And so that's really exposed you to the heart of the issues in the sector. You're exposed to really the viewpoints of different stakeholders, which can be often too diverging. And [00:20:00] in my case, during the PhD program, it was not as visible at that time. And I think that also helps.
So if you have that exposure, if you have that contact to the space sector, much more direct –and maybe some universities offer that I don't want to, I don't want to judge, this is really my personal experience from my PhD program—that personal direct exposure would have helped making my research or the thesis that I actually wrote more straight to the point without maybe diverging too much to issues that are maybe not that relevant or considering the different viewpoints that you may not consider if you're not actually exposed to them, because sometimes it's just difficult to get some things in writing.
And then, I guess it transcends the issue of a PhD program, because this is also applicable to bachelor or master studies: is that if you're a social science student that is maybe trying to find [00:21:00] a pathway to the space sector, I would recommend that kind of extra effort to be made towards finding an opportunities to directly bilaterally engage with people working in the sector, with the organizations engaged in the sector, with the stakeholders in that specific field, which is rather still small I would say, in Europe as well as internationally.
Because if you only try to address the space sector in your studies, when, you know, looking at the literature, let's put it like that. I think you risk being exposed to only some views or themes or issues, which may be tend to be much more addressed in an academic writing, but maybe you don't get exposed to some of the maybe other topics that are maybe not even on your horizon. So that exposure, trying to find a way, I know it's not easy and not everyone has that luxury of being actually able to do something like that because of whatever reasons.
But I believe that's [00:22:00] something that really helps on the pathway when becoming a candidate and then trying to land a professional assignment in the sector of space, but maybe space policy specifically could make the distinction in the hiring process,
[00:22:13] Andy: It's interesting and I think that this is something that people who are going in or who are using a PhD to enter into the space sector, they get a shock because particularly in the social sciences, part of the PhD is often, it's not about the subject per se, like the particular policy topic, it's about the application of theory, and you're actually doing a PhD in order to test a theory that's in the social sciences, more so than you are to learn about the particular subject.
So yeah, you're right. If your desire is to go into academia, then I think, for sure you need to have a PhD and you need to really go [00:23:00] into that theoretical world.
[00:23:01] Tomas: Maybe there is, one thing, which I would specifically highlight from a personal experience as a fantastic thing that the PhD program have offered has offered to me, which was the exposure to various grant schemes or competitions or scholarships and it eventually the value of the education, I'd say the value in it is measured to the effort you put in it yourself. So they're usually, I guess today, maybe it's specific for Europe, but usually what I'm seeing right now is the amount of opportunities. I'm not working opportunities, but different types of educational opportunities or engagement opportunities. There is an ample amount of them. My specific experience was that I was still doing my PhD program with let's put it like a rather smaller university in Slovakia, but it was super well connected and it really opened up the doors to different things.
And so within my own three years of a PhD program, I think we really, like [00:24:00] countries all around the world, that I went to just because there were opportunities and I pursued them. And I remember from my university years, when I was still a PhD student, we were also teaching the bachelor and master students some courses.
And what I lacked at that time in a lot of the students was this kind of a willingness or maybe a competitiveness between each other, like a community of students that you want to do something extra in order to be able to get this some kind of an competitive advantage. Because there is always, a competition and to get that competitive advantage over, over someone through this kind of active pursuit of opportunities.
I guess, eventually it all boils down to the fact that and maybe we, I mean, this is a thing which a lot of people probably have strong opinions on it's that the number of jobs that you can get in the space sector with a social science background, such as [00:25:00] international relations, political science, security studies, diplomacy, it's not that much still. I would anticipate, we will see more of those options as I mentioned to you. I believe that the policy dimension, the policy impact of space is becoming higher and bigger. And I guess that will also open up some avenues for people from the policy world from young professionals in the policy world.
But because there is this competitive element, because the number of professional opportunities with non technical background in space sector. It's quite small. You have to be better than your competitor. It all boils down to what makes you a better candidate than the other person. Right.
[00:25:43] Andy: Yeah, exactly. And you've identified, I think, a pretty good career point there, which is really to look for external opportunities to your studies, you know, just doing short internships. And I think people here can be proactive. I mean, you can reach out to companies or organizations and [00:26:00] essentially solicit internships. This is possible.
But then there's some places that have a formal scheme. So I think we should talk about the opportunities that are available at ESPI. So what opportunities are there for early career people in the space sector?
[00:26:17] Tomas: We regularly have the standard internship program, which is I wouldn't call it the program, but we do have a regular internship opportunities, which could serve as an entry point, usually six months or longer programs suitable for young professionals or students finishing up their programs.
And I think it's a paid internship. And I think for what it's worth, it's something that enables a decent life in the city of Vienna commensurate to the career path that our applicants would probably be at that stage of applying to internship.
We have been quite fortunate recently in terms of being able to grow the portfolio of activities. And it seems like we will have a growing demand for the research that we do, which would open up another [00:27:00] opportunities for the researcher positions, which is some kind of a very traditional position.
Also most of them suitable for entry level people where, and I would underline this, the experience or rather the expertise of a person, the professional background or the educational background of a given applicant does not necessarily need to be linked to policy or law. And I think that multidisciplinarity, the diversity in the expertise in the team is very helpful. So we have colleagues which are lawyers. I have colleagues which have more the economics background, we have colleagues that also have engineering background. And I think that really adds a complexity in the environment.
We continue to be a rather like a small working environment, a few dozens of people. So compared to some of the big agencies or big companies that is still fairly small, but whenever we are doing a hiring process–I invite the listeners to check the website or social [00:28:00] media channels to follow and to discover if there is something open at a given stage. I've been with ESPI before for a few years at this stage and I like the environment per se, so that's something that I can recommend as a placement of work in terms of what it offers and what you get out of it. I think it's not just nice, but I do really think that what we do makes a difference. What ESPI produces impacts how space policies in Europe are formulated and pursued.
And I mentioned that we've been quite able in the past few years to grow in terms of the activities with the growing demand from various stakeholders. And I think, when you have that kind of a thing in your, we're a nonprofit eventually, but so it's kind of a hard to measure a business-like KPI in your work, but that growing demand is giving us an impression that what we do at the European Space Policy Institute is providing some value and the stakeholders and wanted, and [00:29:00] that gives you some kind of a motivation of drive of saying what you do makes a difference and it makes you a valued part of the community. And that really helps as a working environment. It really brings a positive spirit to the team.
[00:29:14] Andy: So I strongly invite anyone listening, if you're not already signed up to the ESPI newsletter you should do this. So this is one of my regular space policy reads. So the monthly what's it called Thomas? The
[00:29:28] Tomas: It's called ESPI Insights.
Thank you for bringing this up. Yeah, definitely. It's a monthly newsletter that it's also published as a, some kind of a monitoring and assessment of the top news in the sector, not only European but globally. And yeah, it's a free subscription. So, whoever has a bit more space in their already full inboxes there is this one thing that you can still subscribe to.
[00:29:50] Andy: I think one of the pieces of advice that I try and give to people who are actually looking to get into the space sector and they haven't necessarily done a degree is, I mean, there's so much [00:30:00] available information now. There's many excellent newsletters that are coming into play. And of course, using social media to learn about the subject is getting easier and easier. But yeah, and personally, I really liked the ESPI Insights. It's really comprehensive and in depth and, of course, very rigorously researched.
[00:30:17] Tomas: There is one point, Andy, that I would probably add to what you were saying the accessibility of information, which is something which it's really out there. I mean, you can access so much information today through different sources that you, it does make your life harder and easier at the same time, but easier in terms of if you want to commit, if you want to give that extra effort, you can do it at a reasonable cost, let's, put it like that, only of investing your time mostly.
And one thing which I have recently found out maybe I'm speaking now from a position of a person who do not have an extensive experience with hiring or managing large teams. But what helps, this is a specific experience of ESPI, so we're policy think tank, social science [00:31:00] approach to space.
What does really help even in our space policy community is to have some kind of a technical understanding of the topic. And sometimes it does sound like an exotic thing, but I think it really helps if it's a person with a social science background and okay, again, name your field law, policy, economy. It's very hard to present yourself as a candidate or as a professional with a great added value if the technical understanding of the space sector is limited because it leads you to argumentation
It can lead you to situations where you say something that does not really make sense or that is factually not true because of the laws of physics. So things such as orbital mechanics or you know, like very generic space system design or, these are the things that I'm not, I'm definitely not an expert into those things myself, but what really helped me in my early years in the [00:32:00] sector was trying to get that technical understanding in order so that the work that I do has more quality, even that work is not so much technical. And then I seen it happen to other people as well, that if you don't have some kind of technical understanding where things are and what's happening in space you risk getting yourself into this kind of argumentation that is factually incorrect and which eventually does not have a good impact on how a person presents him or herself in the hiring process or then actually in the professional assignment.
So just to wrap it up: it's a recommendation that if you're considering carrying space and are not pursuing an education or a training in a technical program or in a technical field. It does still help to at least have an understanding, not being an expert, but at least have some kind of, technical understanding of the space sector. Because it's just needed.
[00:32:54] Andy: Thanks for sharing that. That is really helpful. And just to add to that, actually, that I think [00:33:00] that in some ways, people who are transitioning from a technical role into a policy role, in a way have an advantage because they often already have this deep technical understanding, which as we've discussed several times, this is really critical to the details of a policy.
So, yeah, absolutely. That is great advice. So let's come to your role now at ESPI. So you have been there for five years and you recently started a senior level role as European Engagement Manager. So can you tell us a little bit about this? What are you doing? What does a typical day look like?
[00:33:34] Tomas: Yes, indeed. I've had the privilege to be offered a set of responsibilities that are linked to the majority of the work that ESPI is doing, which is high quality research. We would put it like that. But then in the set of responsibilities that I have in the role as a lead for European Engagement, it's more linked towards various types of activities where you do not necessarily construct a new research, but you [00:34:00] basically try to deliver and promote your expertise where it matters.
It's more of a matter of, you know, communications, networking, something which in business would be considered as a, some kind of customer management. We are, as I speak, increasingly exposed to the European space sector in its diversity of stakeholders that are there and that are actually interested in the work that we're doing, either in the form of a consumer of the results of the research or in the form of a partnering on some specific research activities or other types of activities. And so we realized if we want to maintain the placement of ESPI somewhere at the center of this ecosystem, being able to discuss with industry, with national space agencies, with international organizations, with ESA, EUMETSAT, or with the EU, I think there was a, just basically at the level of the management of the organization, there was basically a recognition [00:35:00] of a need to have a more structured engagement.
My role is called the European engagement because I'm mostly focusing on the European stakeholders. And I have a colleague who is in charge of the international engagement because there is this kind of a slogan or a headline that that ESPI is pushing forward, which is a strong Europe, a partner to the world.
And it's now we're getting into the, you know, the linguistics, but it's about both enabling Europe to take the maximum benefit of what it can do in space. But at the same time, to be a trusted partner globally. Being stronger does not mean that you don't do cooperation. As a matter of fact, you can argue that you do cooperation from the position of power that, when you have more power, you can actually cooperate much more on your own terms, but this is more the political science discussion that we would have. Yeah. But so coming back to the position, it's much more the position of engaging with different types of stakeholders. The majority I would say would be national agencies or national [00:36:00] governments around Europe.
And here it's all boils down to the fact that at my current working environment that ESPI we try to be, as I mentioned earlier, a policy think tank that has a direct sort of impact, let's put it like that, on how public policy on space in Europe is made. And next to the product that you do next to the research that you do, you have to put some extra effort on in terms of how you communicate it, how you bring up the results of the research to the audience where it matters and that you realize it require a specific effort to be dedicated effort on top of actual research. And yeah, that's where I have been engaged mostly in the recent years.
It's very hard. It's very hard to describe a regular day to day business because it really matters on what type of a specific project we are working on and what is the specific time of the year. If you ask me I still have some research. I still have some research [00:37:00] duties. So sometimes that it's cross linked with some of the research projects that we're doing.
It's an office job by default. So think most of the day behind the computer and writing or reading stuff. But I've been fortunate enough, an engagement position usually makes you much more exposed or in much kind of a more direct contact discussion or negotiation with other stakeholders, often our partners. And I have to say, I've appreciated that in the past year.
One thing which I would get out of that. And I wouldn't argue it's not just a thing for, it's not just an experience of myself and some of my colleagues at at ESPI is the high dynamism of the work that we're doing and the diversity of the tasks that, that we are engaged with.
I would argue though, that maybe listeners to the podcast that are in some of the, maybe in SMEs or basically a small working environments at large are probably exposed to that same feeling as well. I have an impression, but I'm not backing it with [00:38:00] any assessment, but I have the feeling when I discuss with some of the people in the sector that the smaller the working environment is, the more duties do we have. Just because there is no one else to do something. I have found myself quite satisfied with this kind of working in a small environment, because it really gives you kind of an experience and overview of really different things that range from doing research through doing administration, event organization, project management duties, business development duties. And I have been exposed to those over the past year quite quite heavily and much more than in the past. And I'm grateful for that.
[00:38:57] Andy: we [00:39:00] are coming to the end of our time now, Thomas. I like to try and end on an inspirational and optimistic note, so you know we're often bogged down in the details of our work and our day to day tasks, but it's good to step back and reflect on how we fit into the bigger picture.
What gives you inspiration about what you are doing and the bigger picture that you fit into?
[00:39:22] Tomas: On one side, it's really about, thinking a bit ahead and I think I mentioned it somewhere in the beginning of the podcast thinking ahead in terms of I am a true believer that the socio economic benefits of space technologies, data and services will be much bigger than it is right now.
We have our own kind of research endeavors. And it's backed by also some other external experts that are really looking into quantifying the benefits that space can have. And if you look at those, you really see that the multiplier effect of space on global economy, or the benefits of space on wider society and economy are [00:40:00] perhaps possibly going to be somewhere on the same level, on the same force as those of semiconductors in the recent past, which has been really a transformative force enabling, you know, how other sectors can develop.
And I think space can do it. We will see new innovation in the space sector. We are already seeing what space assets are doing is that they really transformed the way how we do certain things. And I think we do not, it always gives me the sense of purpose in the be working in the space sector.
We cannot do meteorology without satellite data. We cannot do mobility, logistics, transportation without satellite data. And so this is really the things that, that I think when the time is a bit more hectic or wrong or boring, we should still in the space sector think about that the sector still has a major purpose.
For me, that's one part of that conversation. And the other one, then I guess maybe we sometimes discussed it ourselves. The, just the pure fascination and enjoyment of [00:41:00] exploration and science in whatever format that can be is really something which always lies somewhere in the back of my mind. And I always tell myself that I think on one side, there is much more that as a collectively as a humankind, we can do in exploring space or reusing space as a playground, if you will, for high quality scientific research that can just offer possibly answers to some of the fundamental questions on the origin of life on earth on how we came to be.
And I think, I still personally come back to that now. I work in the space sector. I actually have the privilege of working on some of the science and exploration related topics. And that still gives me a sense of purpose that I think this can still provide some transformative benefits on the society.
And I still think, space science, space exploration it's a major source of inspiration and something which I would call a societal cohesion. We can see it often a lot internally, like it was really a strong driving force also in the cold [00:42:00] war. Maybe you can argue that some of the space programs currently are also driven by the fact that it provides some kind of a justification of the governing regime to its own citizens because if the country can achieve significant technological achievements, it means that it's probably on a good track on social economic development. But there is more than that. I still think there is some kind of a transboundary societal cohesion that, that space science and exploration can offer.
And it can be space based, it can be, as you well know, it can be ground based, but that really gives me some kind of a purpose and motivation to continue working in the space sector, because if I can, play a role, even if that role is very minor, of advancing, humankind's push to the new frontiers in space. I think that personally gives me a lot of a positive spirit and a sense of appreciation of being able to work in this sector.
So I wasn't, I know it was a long explanation, but I guess [00:43:00] even if you're maybe worrying on some of the, let's say boring? Can you say, less inspirational, field of the space, such as in space policy or space law, I think there is a still of way of finding that inspirational dimension and enshrine or embed that inspirational dimension in your day to day life so that can drive the impact of your work.
[00:43:24] Andy: We hope you've been inspired by our journey through space Policy Careers on the Space Policy Pioneers podcast. If you are passionate about carving your path in the cosmos, don't miss out. Head over to www.scienceinspace.co uk to explore our exclusive space policy, career coaching services, and supercharge your career today.
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Shownotes
Title:
Bio: Tomas Hrozensky is a Senior Researcher and lead on European Engagement at ESPI His research work has focused primarily on space sustainability, space security and European space policy. He holds MA and PhD in international relations from the Matej Bel University in Banska Bystrica, Slovakia. Previously he was a visiting Fulbright Scholar at the Space Policy Institute of the George Washington University, a researcher for the Space Security Index 2017, member of Slovak delegation to the UN COPUOS, and a volunteer in the Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC).
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomas-hrozensky-9149a9147/
Disclaimer: All guests are talking in their personal capacity and are not representing any official position of their former or current employing organization.
Episode Summary: In this episode of the Space Policy Pioneers Podcast, host Andy Williams, Director of Science in Space, sits down with Dr. Thomas Hrozensky, a senior researcher and European engagement lead at the European Space Policy Institute. Dr. Hrozensky shares his insights on the major space policy issues today and in the future, discusses how technical understanding is essential in space policy roles, and elaborates on his journey and experiences in the space policy sector.
Episode guide:
0:03 Introduction to the Space Policy Pioneers Podcast
01:12 Guest Introduction: Dr. Thomas Hrozensky
01:45 Major Space Policy Issues and Future Trends
03:16 The Role of Space Diplomacy and International Cooperation
04:38 The Impact of Space Technologies on Other Policy Domains
05:44 The Growing Commercialization of Space and Rising Ambition of Countries
06:16 The Challenges of Governing New Space Activities
07:09 The Importance of Space Traffic Management
11:51 Career Path in Space Policy: Dr. Thomas Hrozensky's Journey
18:05 The Value of Specialization and Technical Understanding in Space Policy
32:53 The Role of European Engagement Manager at the European Space Policy Institute
38:27 The Inspiration and Bigger Picture of Working in Space Policy
42:44 Conclusion and Invitation to Connect with Science in Space
Links and Resources:
ESPI: https://www.espi.or.at/ ESPI have an excellent library of space policy resource - look under “Resources”.
ESPI2040: Sace for Prosperity, Peace and Future Generations https://www.espi.or.at/espi-2040/ - ESPI’s policy vision for the future of Europe in space, and the future of space in the broader society and economy
ESPI Insights Newsletter: https://www.espi.or.at/insights/
EU Policy on Space Traffic Management: https://defence-industry-space.ec.europa.eu/eu-space-policy/space-traffic-management_en
Overview of US Policies on Space Traffic Management (2019). https://www.unoosa.org/documents/pdf/copuos/stsc/2019/tech-05E.pdf
