Above: Rob Watkins, Technical Services Director, opening the event.
Courtesy NATS

Hosted by NATS, a leading air traffic management and solutions company, the aim of the event was to provide the invited academic institutions with a platform to demonstrate their capabilities, with a focus on automation and adaptive systems. Eleven universities attended and presented their projects to representatives from NATS, including the Research and Development team, to discuss how industry and academia can collaborate to further develop the initiatives.

 
New technology is an essential enabler for delivering future operating concepts in air traffic management and to allow for improvements in resilience, as well as managing ATM’s contribution to emissions and climate change. NATS is already in the middle of a £1bn technology transformation programme to achieve these goals, which will support the modernisation of airspace and future-proof systems for the next generation.
 
Trevor Arnold, Head of R&D, NATS, said: “Collaboration is key if we are to deliver the future of aviation and the universities that attended can make an invaluable contribution in this area and specifically, air traffic management.
 
“We at NATS have a strong track record of R&D and taking ideas from concept to implementation and so this inaugural event is a great opportunity to share skills and knowledge and see how we can progress the ideas presented. We are committed to developing and implementing innovative solutions for our customers – airlines and airports – and working together with the universities, providing the expertise to bring their ideas to fruition, will benefit everyone involved.”