Three ways in which Stalowa Wola is projecting itself as a “City of (Space) Talents”

The Space4Talents project, funded as an Innovative Action under the European Urban Initiative, aims precisely to retain and attract talent, while revitalising the local economy through the development of a new space-focused specialisation strategy. Led by the City of Stalowa Wola, the project is developing a multi-pillar strategy based on training, research, and innovation incubation, all embedded in a penta-helix governance model. One of its central components is the creation of a new educational offer: the “Space Academy”, designed to provide flexible and modular training opportunities on Space related matter across technical and transversal disciplines.

While the emphasis on space is indeed unique, the idea behind Stalowa Wola’ Space4Talents project is not entirely new. For example, the City of Aveiro (Portugal) created a city living lab offering digital infrastructure, STEAM training and a citywide 5G network through the Urban Innovative Action project 'Steam City', with the aim of revitalising its urban ecosystem and fostering innovation. Home to tech giants like Philips, the city of Eindhoven (The Netherlands) developed an integrated strategy blending global talent attraction, local reskilling and inclusive innovation in response to the growing tech skills gap. This strategy encompasses initiatives such as the Brainport Talent Attraction Programme and Passport4Work

Stalowa Wola, however, faces a more complex starting point. Unlike Aveiro or Eindhoven, the city lacks a strong pre-existing innovation cluster, although the University of Rzeszów is present with an engineering faculty. Surveys carried out among students, teachers, and professionals as part of the Space4Talents project revealed a clear picture: there is strong interest in the space sector, confirming the need for targeted educational interventions. Also, the demand for transversal skills, particularly in project management, entrepreneurship, and problem solving, is widespread. Yet, perhaps the most critical finding is this: many students do not view studying space-related subjects as a sufficient reason to remain in Stalowa Wola. When asked what could change this perception, the most frequent answer was clear: a concrete job opportunity. This insight underscores a vital challenge for the project: aligning training with real employment pathways and ensuring that the local ecosystem can offer credible prospects for future careers.

To address this challenge, Stalowa Wola, through the Space4Talents project, is developing an integrated strategy based on three main pillars:

1) Igniting Curiosity: EU CASSINI Space Camp and NASA Space Apps Challenge. To spark curiosity and engage young minds, Stalowa Wola is leveraging both youth-focused and community-wide initiatives. The EU CASSINI Space Camp, a one-week residential programme for secondary school students, blended space science lectures, rocket launches, telescope observations, and innovation challenges. Students learned how EU space programmes like Copernicus and Galileo can support real-life applications, from agriculture to health, while developing early teamwork and entrepreneurial skills.

In parallel, the city regularly hosts the NASA Space Apps Challenge - a 30-hour global hackathon that welcomes both students and adults, creating teams to explore topics such as climate change, environmental monitoring, and space exploration. The idea behind is to nurture a local culture of innovation with space as a main driver.

Also, to make science more accessible, the city is establishing Space Clubs to engage young people in space topics in a long-term perspective, through workshops, activities in SpaceLAB, and meetings with experts.

2) A Modular Space Academy: practice-based learning for all. At the core of the project is the Space Academy, a modular training programme designed to equip different audiences with the skills needed in the space world. The Academy will be launched soon. Structured into three thematic paths, each course will run for max. 16 hours over one or two weekends and it will combine workshops, mini-projects, and inspirational sessions—following a hands-on “learning by doing” model.

• For School students: The Academy introduces STEAM concepts and space exploration basics through practical challenges using real satellite data. Students discover how space impacts daily life and are encouraged to see themselves as future scientists, engineers, or innovators.
• For University students: Courses cover upstream and downstream space technologies, from mission design and launch systems to Copernicus and Galileo data. They also develop transversal skills like project management, problem-solving, data analysis, and entrepreneurial thinking—bridging the gap between theory and the job market.
• For Professionals: Targeted at engineers, civil servants, and teachers, this path explores how space data supports agriculture, logistics, urban planning, and emergency response. Participants will learn how to apply these tools in their sectors, while gaining relevant innovation and business skills. This flexible model is grounded on the need to promote inclusion and create pathways for people of all ages to reskill and engage with strategic sectors.

3) Beyond the Classroom: connecting to a local innovation ecosystem. Complementing  the Space Academy is building a broader innovation ecosystem. Closely linked to the Space Academy’s courses, Space4Talents project is developing the SpaceLab, a multifunctional facility hosted in the premises of the Municipal Development Agency (StARR) offering co-working areas, prototyping labs, and mentoring from industry experts. The goal is to provide participants with the possibility to test ideas, build prototypes, and collaborate across disciplines. This will ensure that learning is not only applied, but connected to real opportunities.

This ecosystem is being reinforced by building a strong network of strategic partners. In recent months, the city has successfully engaged with key national players in the technology and space sectors, including the Digital Ministry, the Polish Space Agency (POLSA), ESERO-Poland member of the broader education programme of ESA, the Polish Space Professionals Association (PSPA) and many others. Through this process Stalowa Wola is gaining visibility and relations at the national and EU level.

A key challenge still remains: the current lack of a strong local space industry or clear employment pathways risks limiting long-term impact. To fully realize its potential, the project must focus on building a local space value chain and forging partnerships that turn training into tangible job opportunities.

However, the project's replicable model is grounded in its pragmatic answer to this very challenge. By leveraging its existing industrial base, especially in defence, as a bridge to the space sector, with its modular, hands-on training, a strategic focus on downstream applications (using Copernicus’ open data), also exploring its dual-use, and the creation of the SpaceLab innovation hub, the project builds practical pathways into future-oriented sectors without requiring massive industrial infrastructure. 

In addition, by equipping participants with skills suited to remote and hybrid work, the initiative helps local talent engage with global opportunities while remaining rooted in their community. This "infrastructure-light" approach could be a highly transferable model for other cities.

Also, in the perspective of attracting new business players, the city is investing in Strategic Investment Park, already partially activated.

The Space4Talents project positions Stalowa Wola as a promising example of how mid-sized, post-industrial cities can reinvent themselves. By drawing on the experiences of cities such as Aveiro and Eindhoven, and by fostering an inclusive and forward-looking ecosystem, Space4Talents could become a model that can be replicated across Europe for urban renewal.

Special thanks to the Space4talents's STArR management team (Stalowa Wola) and to all partners, particularly Kozminski University, for generously sharing insights that shaped the analysis and design of the training programme.