NAGs General Assembly at NLR
On the 17th of May, the General Assembly took place at NLR – Netherlands Aerospace Centre. We would like to thank everybody for their participation and NLR, our host, specifically.
During the breaks, NLR hosted a few pitches. They were given by Ronald Beukema, Lennard Verhoeff, Tim Leeuwerink and Max Kruf. The pitches were about the innovations NLR is working on.
The segment meetings were very well attended and provided an open arena for exchange of thoughts.
Aircraft Maintenance
The MRO Segment meeting provided the participants with an MRO market forecast followed by an overview of the latest developments in the Netherlands. Subsequently, Olaf Hoftijzer (KLM E&M) presented the preliminary results of the survey, currently underway and undertaken by CvBLO, related to how the future curriculum of aerospace studies is to change in view of the introduction of new maintenance techniques. This was followed by a forum discussion led by Kees Burger (Avio-Diepen), Olaf Hoftijzer (KLM E&M), and Erwin van Straten (Fokker Landing Gear) focusing on the challenge faced by various participants to improve the attractiveness of aerospace maintenance for future generation students and potential employees. A lively discussion ensued, providing all involved with insight in the various options available to align student & employee expectations with company capabilities in this growing MRO sector in the Netherlands.
Aircraft Manufacturing
The Manufacturing Segment meeting focused on Developing Innovations for Aerospace. Pim Kat of Technobis gave an excellent and inspiring presentation on his lessons learned – the how to’s – based on his personal endeavors in developing an innovative interrogator for load monitoring based on glass fiber and photonic chips. The technology originated in the high tech industry but did not exist for Airborne applications (matching weight, space, energy consumption and cost requirements and expectations). About 35 participants joined the meeting and showed a keen interest given the extensive discussions during and after the presentation. Participants appreciated the openness about successes and (temporary) disappointments of the speaker. Key success factors for Technobis included the availability of the NAG network, (EU) R&D programs and financial support opportunities as well as stamina in developing technology and business relations, securing funding and the required focus to stay on track.
Airport Development & Infrastructure
The Airport Development & Infrastructure segment was excellently hosted by Louis Aartman of NLR. Through the Canvas Business Model methodology discussions were sparked on the impact of innovation on Partnerships, Knowledge Information & Technologies and Markets. Triggers that were thought to influence the business models were, amongst others, the environment, the future growth of air travel and the environment. It led to interesting exchanges of ideas that might deserve a follow-up in the future.
After the segment meetings was the General Assembly, in which the annual account of 2016 was presented. NAG activities and results were discussed.
Following the General Assembly were two plenary speakers, Michel Peters (NLR) about innovation in the aviation industry and Jochen de Vet (Fokker Technologies) on the theme of Cyber Security.
Click this link for the pictures.