During this 10-minute interview at Aerospace Tech Week, Jacqueline Davidson, Program Director, Aerospace Xelerated shared valuable insight into the relationship between start ups and established industry giants, highlighting how their collaboration can drive meaningful innovation in the industry.
“If you want to go fast, go alone. if you want to go far, go together.” Quoting the old African proverb, Davidson highlighted the importance of collaboration as the industry tackles some of its greatest challenges to date. In particular, combining the agility of start ups with the expertise and resources of large corporations will continue to be essential for translating innovative concepts into widespread, game-changing industry solutions.
Since the process of discovery is just the beginning, Davidson showed how industry giants can collaborate with early-stage innovators to incubate and accelerate innovation especially with solutions that address pain points felt across the ecosystem. Looking at the key areas for future breakthroughs, Davidson touch on energy, artificial intelligence (AI), and sustainability,
The conversation also addressed the lack of diversity within the industry. Davidson stressed the importance of establishing an environment that accommodates, rather than alienates, women, starting from their school years and continuing throughout their careers. Reflecting on Aerospace Xelerated, Davidson discussed how they adapted their accelerator programme after seeing a 30 per cent increase in female founders applying in 2020 when the programme went fully virtual. Acknowledging the progress made in recent years, Davidson emphasised the importance of maintaining this momentum, saying:
“I think now more than ever, you’re seeing the first female CEO of a major airline. You’re seeing the first CEO of an OEM like Boeing. You’re hearing a lot of firsts and we’re in 2024, so how do we create more firsts to make sure that we have individuals to look up to?
Watch the full interview below.
- How do much do global cooperation and partnerships advance innovation within the industry and what strategies can be put in place to increase this further?
- How does collaborating with start ups and smaller scale innovators help to drive meaningful innovation?
- What are some emerging trends or disruptive technologies that you think will shape the future of the aerospace industry for the next 5-10 years?
- We are far from where we need to be in terms of diversity. What needs to be done to catalyse progress here?
Book your ticket for Aerospace Tech Week Americas free here or, for more from onsite at Aerospace Tech Week Europe, see:
- The next big aerospace innovations with the MD of JetBlue Ventures
- Maturing AAM technology with CEO & Head of UAM at Airbus
- Digitalisation and SAF: Director of Sustainability on striving for net-zero at Vueling