Prior to ESWW2025 - Space Weather Training Course in Kiruna, Sweden
Applications close on July 7, 2025
Applications are evaluated by the organisers by July 15, 2025.
In conjunction with the European Space Weather Week conference 2025, we will organize a space weather training course in Kiruna, Sweden from Thursday 23rd Oct to Sunday 26th Oct 2025 with arrival on Wednesday 22nd Oct.
Please note that the location is different from that of the European Space Weather Week which will be held in Umeå, Sweden (600 km south of Kiruna). After the training course ends, all participants will travel together to Umeå to attend the conference.
Kiruna: the Swedish space city in the Arctic
Located in the northernmost part of Sweden, Kiruna is a unique city known for its dramatic landscapes and rich cultural heritage. Founded in the late 19th century to support the Kiruna iron ore mine, still operating today, the city has grown into a vibrant community where wilderness and urban Arctic life coexist harmoniously. With its natural beauty, including the Northern Lights and the Midnight Sun, visiting Kiruna is an extraordinary experience.
Kiruna stands out as a significant space hub for research and innovation. The Space Campus in Kiruna is home to the Swedish Institute of Space Physics (IRF), the headquarters of EISCAT AB, a scientific organisation that operates radar antenna sites north of the Arctic Circle to enable research on the ionosphere and the upper atmosphere and Luleå University of Technology’s Kiruna department. The Esrange Space Center run by the Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) is also located in Kiruna. The center serves as a premier site for launching rockets and conducting space research. Additionally, the European Space Agency (ESA) operates a ground station, supporting numerous satellite missions together with SSC and contributing to global space exploration efforts.
Venue
The main venue will be the Swedish Institute of Space Physics in Kiruna. The lodging will be at Malmfältens Fölkhögskola in Kiruna and the participants will share rooms.
It is expected that participants arrive no later than Wednesday 22nd Oct 2025 in Kiruna. The trip (Kiruna- Umeå) to the conference will be on Sunday 26th Oct by train and will be arranged by the organizers of the training course.
Program
Sporadic and massive eruptions of highly energetic matter and radiation from the Sun can trigger Space Weather processes in the near-Earth environment. Technological infrastructures on and around our planet are prone to Space Weather: satellite navigation and radio wave propagation can be impacted, as well as large energy transport systems like electrical power grids.
Human health is also endangered by Space Weather: harmful radiation at flight altitude can increase when a solar particle storm hits the Earth’s environment, exposing crews and passengers to increased particle radiation.
Impacted stakeholders want to learn about those natural hazards. The need for Space Weather knowledge is increasing fast as more nations, companies and industries want to increase their awareness and resilience, in order to bridge with the community and learn how products made available by its members can be exploited.
The training course covers the basics of Space Weather, data, models, indices, alerts, forecasts and products. A detailed programme will be made available at a later stage and will also include a visit to a relevant research center.
Eligibility and Application
The training course is suitable for undergraduate, master and PhD students and early career professionals in the space weather domain. We also welcome applications from teachers, journalists, managers, companies or similar that want to learn about space weather and its impacts. Participation to the training course comes with the condition to also register for the ESWW conference the week after.
Applications will open 3 June 2025. To apply please, use the registration link below. You will be asked why you would like to participate in the training course, what your relevant experience is and how the training course can help you in your career.
After the deadline, all applications will be reviewed by the organizers by July 15, taking DE&I considerations into account. All applicants will be informed of the result of the selection and selected candidates can then register for the training course at the same time as they register for the conference.
Registration and Fee
We expect the registration fee for the training course to be between 2000 and 2500 SEK (Swedish Kroner). This fee will cover tuition, accommodation, some meals, and travel to Umeå on Sunday.
Up to 8 participants can receive sponsorship to attend this training course, of which 4 can receive travel funding if eligible. Applicants will need to substantiate their need of funding in the application form. There are two funding options:
- E-SWAN funding to waive the registration fee for the training course
- ESA Academy funding for citizens of an ESA Member State, Associate Member, or Canada (more info)
Students will be selected and ranked according to their motivation and CV. The organisers will distribute the funding based on this ranking.
As participation to the conference afterwards is mandatory, we also offer the participants that receive E-SWAN sponsorship the option to volunteer to help with the organisational aspects of the conference itself. In return for 2,5 days of volunteer work in Umeå, these students will be allowed participation in the entire conference including the welcome reception, music night, dinner, and fair cost free. These volunteers will also be offered cheap accommodation in the form of shared rooms at a price around 2100 SEK for the full week.
Note that this offer to volunteer will in a first stage only be open to participants receiving E-SWAN sponsorship to the training course and to Swedish students. In case not all spots are filled after these calls, the offer will be published on the website and will be open to all participants.
Participants that receive E-SWAN funding for the training course are not eligible to receive any other funding for the ESWW conference (except when volunteering).
Registration to the conference should only be done AFTER you receive a reply to funding your participation in the training course. Once you have registered and payed for the conference, we can not refund the conference fee.
How to reach Kiruna
Kiruna is accessed easily from Stockholm by overnight train (https://www.sj.se/en/ - there are discounted student tickets available) or plane. A direct flight takes 90 minutes and both SAS and Norwegian fly the route, check for youth tickets. The Kiruna airport is just 10km from the old town centre and there is an airport bus connection. It is not uncommon to experience delays of both trains and planes in the winter in northern Sweden due to adverse weather so it is advisable to arrive in good time for the training course to avoid disappointment and at the latest the day before. This will also increase the probability of seeing the aurora during your stay.
Organizers
Sponsors
