Wayfarer Programme - Research Experience & Professional Development for Early Career Graduates

The Wayfarer Programme aims to address a genuine societal challenge: graduates who struggle to secure professional space sector jobs without professional experience, even when they're working in other roles.

We believe that meaningful professional development should never come at the expense of fair value exchange. So, rather than offering unpaid internships that take advantage of this lop-sided balance of power, we've designed a programme that provides authentic research experience through projects that benefit SustainabilityOf.Space's strategic thinking while developing your professional capabilities.

It's unpaid value-adding research around non-critical work, aiming to create genuine learning opportunities without exploitation.

Programme Overview

The Wayfarer Programme offers graduates the opportunity to undertake substantive research projects under professional mentorship. Participants work on real-world challenges in space sustainability, space governance, space resilience, space safety or responsible business practice, producing outputs that contribute to thought leadership while building their professional portfolio.

Duration: 1-3 months and designed to get you into paid work quickly

Commitment: Flexible, typically 1-3 days per week on research

Support: 1-4 hours per fortnight mentorship and guidance subject to the needs of project

Output: Research report with you as lead author and publication dependent on meeting our standards

What We Offer

• Meaningful Research Projects: Work on substantial topics that align to your ambition and mirror professional consulting or policy analysis

• Professional Mentorship: Regular support from Callala & SustainabilityOf.Space directors and senior associates with lived experience in sustainability consulting and responsible governance

• Potential Publication: Research reports that meet our standards will be published with you as lead author and co-authorship that may include reviewers

• Project Management Experience: Structured planning, progress reporting, and deadline management

• Flexible Structure: Designed around your need to job search, interview, and maintain income through other work

• Quality Commitment: We commit to making strong work better, but work that doesn't meet minimum standards won't be elevated by our team

  
  

Realistic Expectations

We recognise you're actively seeking paid employment. Our programme provides intensive professional development over 1-3 months, designed to give you tangible experience and outputs quickly. We expect you to allocate:

• 1-3 days per week on research - your choice based on your capacity and commitments

• 2-3 days per week job searching, interviews, and applications

• 1 day per week in paid work - e.g. retail, hospitality, gig economy - this is mandatory

Our goal is to support you into fully paid professional work as quickly as possible

Eligibility

We welcome applications from individuals who:

• Graduated from an Australian or UK-based university between 2022-2025 with space, science, engineering, sustainability, law or related technical background

• Feel their early professional development was impacted by COVID-19 disruptions

• Are currently working minimum one day per week either in the UK or Australia - demonstrating work ethic and real-world engagement

• Are motivated to engage meaningfully with a research project over 1-3 months

• Seek genuine professional development rather than unpaid employment

• Value structured, supportive professional mentorship

We focus on science, space, and sustainability research. Strong technical or scientific background preferred due to the specialised nature of our research areas.

How This Works

1. Project Selection: Choose from available research topics in science, space, or sustainability or conjure one that suits you - it should be part of the wider transition to safe, responsible, resilient, lawful and sustainable space activity or policy

2. Application & Selection: Make an application to hello@sustainabilityof.space

3. Planning Phase: Once selected and we've agreed your project, develop focused work plan and timeline with mentor support

4. Research Execution: Conduct literature reviews, analysis, and synthesis with regular check-ins

5. Professional Development: Learn project management, professional communication, and strategic thinking

6. Review & Quality: Your work will be reviewed and may include co-authors from the review process

7. Publication Decision: Work meeting our minimum standards will be published with you as lead author

8. Transition: Use experience and research insights to secure paid professional employment

Note: In exceptional cases where there's strong mutual fit after completion, we may discuss further professional development opportunities, but the programme's primary goal is preparing you for external employment.

Application Process

Send both of the following to hello@sustainabilityof.space

Written Statement (max 400 words): Focus on your match to this role, so think about why you would be excellent at research-driven professional development, how you approach complex problems, and how you see generative AI as an enhancing tool rather than a replacement for critical thinking. You are absolutely able to use LLMs for this step, but like the expected research, if it carries no personal flavour then the application is likely to sail straight past.

Video Introduction (2-3 minutes): Record yourself speaking naturally (no script, no edits, pauses and mistakes are fine). Tell us about you, what motivates you, what you enjoy and dislike, how you see yourself today compared to your younger self, what you've learned from different experiences, and why you're interesting to any employer. This is a reflective exercise that should help with any job application. We encourage applicants to speak to candid and constructive family and friends about areas where you are already strong and opportunities for growth.

CV: Please attach a 1-page or 2-page CV that is personally created for humans and/or one that speaks to AI CV filters. If we like the written statement and your video, a human will read the CV.

We review applications on a rolling basis and shall invite an informal conversation to explore fit and expectations.

The Wayfarer Programme reflects our commitment to ethical professional development and our belief that meaningful experience should provide fair value to all parties involved. This undertaking is made voluntarily by Callala Ltd and SustainabilityOf.Space to support early graduates in Australia and the United Kingdom under the Australia-UK Space Bridge

Suggested Topics

Below are a list of possible topics - these are non-exhaustive - as this is about you, feel free to develop and propose your own. So long as there is strong alignment to the widest extent of space sustainability - in, for and of space - it's eligible. 1. Comparative Assessment of National (Australia or UK) vs EU Space Debris Mitigation Standards: Implementation Gap Analysis

• Focus: EU Space Act Safety pillar - debris mitigation compliance

• Scope: Analyse how existing national guidelines align with proposed EU requirements. Assess implementation costs and technical readiness.

2. Environmental Impact Assessment Methodologies for Mega-Constellation Deployment: Developing EU-Compliant Evaluation Frameworks

• Focus: EU Space Act Sustainability pillar - environmental impact assessment

• Scope: Create standardised methodologies for assessing cumulative environmental impacts from large satellite deployments, including orbital debris generation, collision risks, and light pollution.

3. Light Pollution Mitigation Strategies for Commercial Space Operations: Technical Solutions and Regulatory Compliance

• Focus: EU Space Act Safety pillar - light pollution control

• Scope: Assess technical solutions (satellite design modifications, operational procedures, coating technologies) for reducing astronomical interference while maintaining operational capabilities.

4. Cross-Border Space Incident Response Mechanisms: Designing EU-Wide Coordination Protocols

• Focus: EU Space Act Resilience pillar - incident reporting and response

• Scope: Design coordination mechanisms for space incidents affecting multiple EU member states, including legal frameworks, technical response protocols, and information sharing systems.

5. In-Orbit Servicing Economic Viability Under EU Sustainability Requirements: Market Mechanism Design

• Focus: EU Space Act Sustainability pillar - supporting debris removal innovation

• Scope: Analyse how EU regulatory requirements could create market incentives for in-orbit servicing, including economic modelling of debris removal services and regulatory compliance costs.

6. UK/AU Space Surveillance Network Data Sharing Protocols: Implementing URSO Integration Requirements

• Focus: EU Space Act Safety pillar - space object tracking and collision avoidance

• Scope: Analyse how existing SSA networks (EU SST, US Space Surveillance Network, commercial providers) can integrate with the proposed Union Register of Space Objects (URSO). Assess data standardisation, real-time sharing protocols, and technical interoperability.

7. AI-Enhanced Small Debris Detection for EU Compliance: Machine Learning Applications in 1-10cm Object Tracking

• Focus: EU Space Act Safety pillar - addressing the critical detection gap

• Scope: Develop a concept model report on machine learning algorithms for detecting sub-trackable debris using existing or proposed sensor networks. Assess compliance with EU requirements for collision avoidance in the most dangerous size range.

8. ADR Mission Target Prioritisation: Risk-Based Selection Frameworks for EU Space Act Compliance

• Focus: EU Space Act Sustainability pillar - supporting debris removal innovations

• Scope: Develop standardised methodologies for prioritising debris removal targets based on collision risk, economic value, and technical feasibility.

9. Multi-Target ADR Mission Planning: Economic Viability and Technical Implementation

• Focus: EU Space Act Sustainability pillar - debris removal innovation and economic incentives

• Scope: Analyse technical and economic feasibility of single missions removing multiple debris objects. Model operational constraints, cost structures, and regulatory compliance under EU framework.

*Graphic Design: Victoria Beall