diff --git a/.gitlab-ci.yml b/.gitlab-ci.yml
index 96976eacf3d869c8592faba621f836fd077a7252..ac3f70737d810b877a64b4afc61469da4ffb7407 100644
--- a/.gitlab-ci.yml
+++ b/.gitlab-ci.yml
@@ -257,6 +257,7 @@ gcc_9_python_slurm_test:
     - apt-get install -y rsync
     - mkdir -p ~/.ssh
     - chmod 700 ~/.ssh
+    - echo "Host *\n    ServerAliveInterval 240" >> ~/.ssh/config
     - eval $(ssh-agent -s)
     - echo "$SSH_KEY" | tr -d '\r' | ssh-add -
     - echo $SSH_KEY >> ansible/private_key