ESO Summer Research Programme
8th ESO Summer Research Programme
Garching, Germany
15 June - 24 July 2026
For six weeks in the summer of 2026, ESO will host the seventh Summer Research Programme. This fully-funded programme is an opportunity for university students interested in astronomy/astrophysics, who are not yet enrolled in a PhD programme, to obtain research experience alongside astronomers based at ESO Headquarters (HQ) in Garching, Germany.
We accept applications from promising university students from any country, although priority will be given to students from ESO Member States, Strategic Partners (Australia) and the Host State (Chile).
The Summer Research Programme will be hosted in Garching.
We are excited to announce the projects for the 2026 Summer Programme:
Project A: Assessing Assembly Bias Through the Satellite Populations of X-ray–Selected Halos
with Ilaria Marini, Victoria Toptun, Natanael de Isídio
Project B: Tracing shock-driven shaping of molecular clouds as a trigger for star formation
with Elena Redaelli, Marta De Simone
Project C: Aligned, askew, or wildly tilted? Measuring an exoplanet’s orbit
with Bibiana Prinoth, Jens Kammerer, Sydney Vach, Juliana Ehrhardt
Project D: A turbulent youth: Investigating the conditions of planetary birthplaces
with Jochen Stadler, Anna Miotello
Project E: Excavating the fossil record of KILOGAS galaxies
with Amelia Fraser-McKelvie, Nikki Geesink
Project F: Centers of Dwarfs or the Outskirts of Giants: Where Do More Pristine Stars Form?
with Martyna Chruslinska, Géza Csörnyei
Project G: From Molecular Lines to Physical Conditions: Teaching Neural Networks to Read the Interstellar Medium
with Lukas Neumann, Caterina Bracci, Francesco Belfiore
The Summer Research Program at ESO is an exceptional opportunity for students to work at an institute that is both the headquarters of the most productive observatory in the world and a top-class research organisation. People at ESO's HQ maintain a very active research community and are also designing and operating cutting-edge telescopes and their instruments including the VLT, ALMA, and the forthcoming ELT, which will be the world's biggest optical-near infrared telescope!
The applicants can choose between a wide range of research projects, covering many areas of astronomy from planets to galaxies. The ESO Summer Research Programme will also provide opportunities beyond research, including a series of lectures, a mini-workshop, a planetarium visit, an ELT instrumentation visit, and many social activities. You should expect six weeks packed with new experiences, new networks and new friendships!
Travel costs to/from Garching will be covered for participants of the programme. Accommodation will be provided in a shared apartment in Garching (with electricity, heating and internet all included). Students will also be provided with a modest stipend to cover living costs during the programme. Successful students have the responsibility to acquire any required visas to spend six weeks working in Germany under these conditions.
ESO Blog articles on the 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 editions of the Summer Research Programme can be found here, here, here, and here.
Previous editions of the ESO Summer Research Programme:
For inquiries about the programme, please email summerresearch@eso.org.
