Post-graduate study on Nano-Satellite Technologies (PNST) Fellowship Programme
OPEN FOR APPLICATION (2026 Round)
Open on 20 August 2025
The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs and the Government of Japan in cooperation with the Kyushu Institute of Technology (Kyutech) have established a United Nations/Japan Long-term Fellowship Programme on Nano-Satellite Technologies for nationals of developing countries or non-space-faring nations. The Programme will provide extensive research opportunities in nano-satellite systems through the use of the nano-satellite development and testing facilities available at Kyutech.
The purpose of this fellowship is to help participants from non-space-faring nations earn advanced degree at Kyutech and learn tangible skills that can support the establishment and/or development of your country's space economy and ecosystem.
Applications for the Fellowship Programme was accepted until Sunday, 30 November 2025, 23:59 Japan Standard Time (JST).
PNST Fellowship Programme Details
This "Post-graduate study on Nano-Satellite Technologies (PNST)" Fellowship Programme will accept up to three students in the Master's Programme (2 years duration) and up to three students in the Doctoral Programme (3 years duration). Successful participants will be awarded a master or doctoral degree after successful thesis defence. The successful candidates will enroll in the Space Engineering International Course (SEIC) after passing an official entrance examination by the Graduate School of Engineering, Kyushu Institute of Technology.
The selected candidates will each receive a grant under Japanese government (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology: MEXT) scholarship (Research Students) of approximately 144,000 JPY per month for the duration of their fellowship study (2 or 3 years) to cover housing, food, local transportation, and other expenses. Each candidate will be provided, according to his/her itinerary and route as designated by MEXT, an economy class air ticket between an international airport in the country of his/her nationality and an international airport in Japan used on the normal route to the accepting university. Fees for matriculation, tuition and entrance examinations will be paid by Kyutech.
Overview of the PNST Programme (including eligibility, submission procedure, and schedule)
Application Documents
Please first complete the electronic registration form , using the link below:
The PNST registration site is using Microsoft services. If you are unable to access the above URL due to restrictions on Microsoft services in your area, please contact PNST Administration: pnst.space [at] mail.kyutech.jp (Replace [at] with @). Please note that the administrative office cannot reply to your inquiries during weekends, and Japanese holidays. If you want to apply, please contact us well in advance.
After registering for PNST you will receive a confirmation email with the web address where you will download the editable versions of the application forms.
Information Note and Supplementary documents:
Application Documents:
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Before contacting us, please make sure you have read our FAQ carefully.
Interviews
Fatima Duran "How satellite technology has opened new opportunities: From El Salvador to the world" (August 2021)
Pooja Lepcha "Being at Kyutech is like having the entire world in our lab" (October 2020)
Webinar
See the recording of the past PNST webinars from here.