Cornelis (Niels) Eldering
| Country | The Netherlands |
| Languages | Dutch (Native), German (Native), English (Fluent) |
| Profession | Head of the Space Solutions Section at ESA |
| Organisation | European Space Agency (ESA) |
Background
Cornelis Eldering (Niels) is Head of the Space Solutions Section within the Innovation and Ventures Office at the European Space Agency. Together with his team, he is responsible for ESA's Space Solutions Network, which comprises of ESA’s Business Incubation Centres (ESA BICs), the ESA Technology Transfer broker network and the ESA Business Applications ambassador platform.
Niels was instrumental in the definition and set-up of ESA's business incubation strategy back in 2002 and together with his team he continues to advance Technology Transfer and Business Incubation in Europe. The primary aim of the ESA Business Incubation Centres (ESA BICs) is to provide support to entrepreneurs who wish to exploit space-based solutions into non-space markets. ESA currently has 20 Business Incubation Centers across its member states and 60 locations where ESA incubation services are offered. This incubation approach has been adopted for similar technology transfer activities by CERN, Fraunhofer and Airbus Defence and Space. Niels has chaired over 100 evaluation boards for start-up company selection and evaluated over 1.800 business cases, including ideas filed for the European Satellite Navigation Competition.
Niels holds a Master of Science in Business Administration from the Rotterdam School of Management (RSM), where he in 2003 completed his research on setting up a strategy for the first ESA Business Incubation Centre. Passionately engaged in the challenging process from exploration to exploitation of space technology, he regularly provides keynote presentations on conferences as well as guest lectures such as to the CEMS Master in International Management. In 2015 he received the RSM Distinguished Alumni Award for Senior Leader due to his efforts in creating benefits for society by engaging business and education with space technology. Besides his career at ESA, Niels is currently also a Part-Time PhD student at the RSM department for Technology and Operations Management.
Niels is living in the Netherlands with his family and working at ESTEC, the European Space Research and Technology Centre in Noordwijk.
ESA Innovation & Ventures Office
News
Information for all visitors to ESA sites
Thu, 09 Apr 2020 18:13:00 +0200
Information for all visitors to ESA sites Coronavirus measures for hosted meetings and visitors
Read moreCopernicus Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich: preparing for launch
Tue, 29 Sep 2020 14:00:00 +0200
Video: 00:03:10 A European satellite built to carry out precise measurements of sea level changes has arrived in California in preparation for launch. The Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite forms part of the European Union’s Copernicus Earth Observation programme and will employ radar to map sea surface topography. The mission will be used to monitor the height of the sea surface to understand long-term change. It will also measure wave height and wind speed. The satellite will provide fundamental data for climate science, policy-making and protecting the 600 million people who live in vulnerable coastal areas. Data are provided to Copernicus services in near-real time to improve marine and weather forecasts used by maritime and coastal communities. The mission is a collaboration between ESA, the European Commission, EUMETSAT, NASA and NOAA, with support from the French Space Agency CNES. It is named Michael Freilich after NASA’s former Director of Earth Science and is scheduled for launch on 10 November on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg Air Force Base. This A-roll contains Copernicus Sentinel-2 images of the Maldives, new in-orbit animations and clean-room footage from testing in Germany.
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