STEM in Aviation Day inspires East London students
Image courtesy London City Airport
The theme of this year’s event was ‘Zero Emission Flight’, which aims to inspire the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs into decarbonisation technologies, with a focus on aviation.
The event was particularly timely, coinciding with COP27, the launch of the Department for Transport’s ‘'Generation Aviation’ recruitment campaign and the publication of Project NAPKIN, a blueprint for achieving zero emission flight across the UK by 2040.
London City Airport’s STEM in Aviation event aims to give students insight into the current and future applications of science and technology in the aviation sector and inspire them to choose Science, Technology, Engineering and Math’s (STEM) subjects in school.
Addressing the UK’s STEM skills shortage will ensure the continued success of the aviation sector, which is one of the UK’s most successful industries, contributing at least £22 billion a year to the UK economy, along with over 230,000 jobs.
A number of organisations involved in the event included Boeing, GKN, Accenture, Arcadis, University of East London (UEL) and London City Airport, who hosted presentations and interactive sessions with the students, showcasing how important STEM-based skills are to the future of the sector.
Aviation Minister Baroness Vere said: “A career in aviation promises to be creative, inspiring and rewarding, and now also provides a chance to shape our future for the better as we face up to the challenges of climate change. It’s therefore vital we help the next generation of workers to imagine a future in flight.
“This great initiative by London City Airport will help us to reach a new audience as we look to bring the best talent into the aviation industry, spark students’ ideas on real world issues, and support our new Generation Aviation recruitment campaign.”
A new supporter of the event this year is GKN Aerospace, which is positioned in the vanguard of future sustainable aviation.
Max Brown, Vice President, Technology, GKN Aerospace said: “GKN Aerospace is delighted to support this STEM event. We are committed to the development of sustainable aviation and in particular, zero emission flight as is being investigated in our five year, H2GEAR research programme.
"The ground-breaking technology of hydrogen fuelled aircraft promises to revolutionise aviation with a zero-emission flight capability and we are excited to have the opportunity to pass on our passion to the engineers, scientists and technologists of the future.”
Robert Sinclair, CEO at London City Airport, said: “For London City Airport, this STEM ‘zero emissions flight’ challenge is particularly relevant due to our ambition to be the first UK airport to be net zero carbon by 2030.
With the highest proportion of domestic passengers of any London airport, London City Airport ideally suited to be a test bed for Zero Emissions Fuel (ZEF) aircraft, which will start on a smaller domestic scale. I sincerely hope many of the young people at today’s event will not only be inspired to work in aviation but will relish the opportunities that we, and industry partners, can create on their doorstep.”
Jeremy Rees, CEO, ExCeL London, said: “ExCeL has a long and proud history of supporting its local community and we’re delighted to be continuing this work with London City Airport. As a carbon neutral venue, we care passionately about sustainability and so the recent STEM in Aviation Day was a great initiative to help inform and inspire this next generation.”
Labour Member of Parliament for East Ham, Stephen Timms MP said: “I applaud this initiative by London City Airport. It was great to see such a large group of enthusiastic East London youngsters focusing their attention on making aviation sustainable.”
Robert Sinclair, CEO at London City Airport, said: “For London City Airport, this STEM ‘zero emissions flight’ challenge is particularly relevant due to our ambition to be the first UK airport to be net zero carbon by 2030.
With the highest proportion of domestic passengers of any London airport, London City Airport ideally suited to be a test bed for Zero Emissions Fuel (ZEF) aircraft, which will start on a smaller domestic scale. I sincerely hope many of the young people at today’s event will not only be inspired to work in aviation but will relish the opportunities that we, and industry partners, can create on their doorstep.”
A spokesperson for University of East London (UEL) said: “Students and staff from our Aeronautical Engineering course enjoyed delivering the session to the schools. They had an opportunity to see how engineering works in real life and to put theory into practice. It was great seeing the students engaging and thinking about STEM as a future career."
Following the sessions in the morning, the school groups faced an aviation-themed STEM challenge, where they were tasked with developing concepts for a project to deliver zero emissions flight at London City Airport selecting sustainable infrastructure and equipment.
Six finalists were selected and the winning group, George Greens School, did a brilliant job in showcasing, in front of industry judges, how City Airport can achieve Zero Emissions. The students provided solutions on the ground as well as in the air, outlining how SAF’s and hydrogen fuels can be introduced, as well as using a sustainable heating and cooling system for airport buildings.
