Perceived value of student participation in the field of aerospace engineering from a student's perspective

The importance of student participation in space projects is well known. New students are needed to supplement the future workforce and both experience and enthusiasm are important factors to join any industry. Students can also offer fresh perspectives to existing problems in any field of engineering. It is also argued that it is very beneficial for the students themselves. This paper will clarify the point of view from students on student participation in aerospace engineering for their own interests, both personal and professional, as well as their general opinion on space research and development. Qualitative interviews were held with several groups of (former) students: Students not (yet) engaged in a large project; Students in the concept stage of a large project and students at the end stages of a large project. Both engineering and non-engineering students are of interest for this research. A broad range of questions is asked to the participants as this is mostly explorative research. The aim of this paper is to increase student participation by means of a better understanding of student expectations and experiences. Projects better suited to student needs could be developed in the future. With this better understanding and improved projects, more student projects could be successfully launched by both universities and corporations. This should benefit both educational and corporate interests in active student involvement as more research will be done by the students and more students will be engaged and motivated in the space industry. Due to the nature of qualitative interviews students will come with ideas on how to increase student participation and make student projects more successful, so we can relay these to educational institutions and companies.