Ondřej Šlajs, a student of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, has been gaining practical experience at OHB Czechspace for two years. He was brought to practice by chance, encountering the company at the FSI’s Career Fair. Since then, he has been reaching for a stellar career, as OHB Czechspace operates in the field of space technologies.

When the Career Fair was held online two years ago due to the pandemic, Ondřej Šlajs, just out of interest, clicked on the virtual stand of OHB Czechspace, the Brno-based company. "I've always found the universe interesting – it seemed all like science fiction. But I never thought about a career in this field. Nevertheless, I was intrigued by the company's presentation, they are working on really interesting projects for the European Space Agency and beyond," recalls Ondřej.

He did not choose the classic way and, instead of contacting the corporate HR, he reached out directly via Linkedln to Ondřej Krepl, the head of the Business Development section, who presented the company at the Career Fair. "Mr. Krepl suggested that we would be meeting every Friday afternoon, for which I was really grateful. Each following week he assigned me with tasks that were getting increasingly harder. After six month, I was invited to join the company. But during the first few months I had to learn the basics and work for free," says Ondřej. He did not know much about space technologies before joining OHB, as he is studying for a bachelor's degree in the broadest program of Fundamentals of Mechanical Engineering. Although he has not obviously yet learned much about the universe at school during his studies, he has apparently found a practical application of his knowledge.

Today, he works almost a full-time job, but as he says, probably only temporarily. "Since I have to repeat one of my subjects, I do not attend many classes and so I can spend more time at work, and I now have almost a full-time job. I will want to continue my studies for a master's degree and then I would have to choose between studying and at least a significant limitation of my engagement in the company, both of which cannot be fully managed," Ondřej admits.

He is currently busy identifying opportunities within ESA, which he is in charge of at OHB Czechspace, as well as working on the Czech SOVA satellite, which is planned to be launched in 2027. "Since the vast majority of these are development activities, we start by getting together, putting on the board potential solutions derived from the initial idea. We come up with technical solutions, look for partners from industry or universities, and plan it so that it all fits together. As part of the SOVA mission, I negotiate with Czech manufacturers and suppliers of components for satellites, and I also helped make a model of the SOVA satellite, which was on display, for example, at last year's Space Week in Prague," Ondřej describes.

Working at OHB has already brought him not only practical experience and insight into a completely new field, but also the opportunity to meet a number of interesting people. "I recently organized an interview with the Czech "astronaut in reserve" Aleš Svoboda. In addition, I got the opportunity to talk to people from companies in the space industry, ESA delegates for the Czech Republic, or I visited Panská Ves, where the observatory of the Academy of Sciences is located," he says.

At the school, he is currently working on his bachelor's degree, which he arranged before joining OHB and therefore deals with a completely different theme. "I'm researching deformation-stress analysis of dental implants," he says, laughing at how far his topic is from the universe. However, he enjoys working on his bachelor's degree, so he is also looking to study biomechanics for his master's degree. Whether the winner will be the biomechanics or the optics or the aerospace technology with which he could apply for ESA's Young Graduate Trainee program remains to be seen. But his practical experience has already fundamentally changed his life and maybe even his future career. "If I could recommend something, it would be the Career Fair. Go there and look around," Ondřej concludes.