Two students have landed the most prized student placements in Scotland – working with Edinburgh-based space rocket firm Skyrora.
Bethany Taylor and David King, who were selected from more than 100 applicants, will be based at Skyrora’s production facility at Loanhead – supporting the company’s aim to help Scotland to become a key player in the UK’s space race programme.
Bethany, a Mechanical Engineering student at University of Edinburgh, and David, an Aerospace Engineering student at the University of Sheffield have joined Skyrora’s technical team – supporting manufacturing, vehicle launches and more Skyrora XL stage testing.
Both David and Bethany will play a part in assisting Skyrora to achieve its goals for 2021.
Bethany said: “I am really looking forward to learning about how the business is run and having the chance to work on different projects, using the knowledge that I have learnt at university, on real life projects within Skyrora.”
David added: “I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with the team at Skyrora, who are getting the UK back into space. It will be a great chance to push myself and learn from all the talented individuals who work here.”
Skyrora – through a range of important breakthroughs, including successful test launches and pioneering an eco liquid-fuel – has established itself as the UK’s leading private rocket company, supporting the burgeoning small satellite market. It aims to launch its first rocket – the Skyrora XL – from a UK site in 2023.
Skyrora’s Graduate Placement Programme is highly regarded by UK Universities as a vital pathway to help young engineering talent into the rapidly developing space sector.
Dr Jack James Marlow, Head of Engineering at Skyrora said: “2021 will be another important year for Skyrora as we move towards our first launch – an event that also will of huge significant to the UK’s space industry ambitions.
“But to achieve our goal – and continue to support the focus on space as a growth sector in both Scotland and the UK – it’s vital we continue to engage with universities to forge and develop the new talent of the future.
“With 100+ applications, Skyrora’s placement programme has seen major interest from all over Europe.”
Skyrora offers technical positions for students at the start of each year, as well as summer internships.
www.skyrora.com/career
