Streamline Marketing Group (Space Zone Hall 1, Booth 1004), the Dubai, UAE-based conference and events company whose aviation division is known as SMG Aerospace, is at the Farnborough Airshow promoting its portfolio of UAE aerospace events. These include the Global Aerospace Summit, the Global Space Congress, and the World Aviation Safety Summit, all of which will be taking place in the next two years.
The Middle East is one of the fastest growing aviation and aerospace markets in the world, driven largely by surging tourism and booming economies. The UAE expects to see annual growth of 6 percent in air traffic over the next two decades, or 30 percent above the global average, said Khaled Al Qubaisi, CEO, aerospace, renewables & ICT, Mubadala Investment Company at the Global Aerospace Summit in May.
“The UAE has the largest and one of the youngest fleet of aircraft in the region…and its aviation industry alone…is valued at $80 billion, providing nearly half a million direct and indirect jobs to a population of only 9 million. By 2025 it should account for 16 percent of the nation's GDP, and that’s the aviation sector alone, without including space and defense...Aerospace and its related industries will continue to be a key pillar of our economy into the future,” Al Qubaisi said. The upcoming events are intended to build interest in these sectors. The forthcoming World Aviation Safety Summit, hosted by the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, takes place on December 11 and 12 in Dubai. “The Summit will explore how world-leading airlines like Emirates are capitalizing on safety management systems and how new technologies are enhancing the ability of safety professionals to deliver programs and communicate effectively with stakeholders,” a company press release said.
The Global Space Congress, which developed from the earlier Global Space and Satellite Forum, was held for the first time in January 2017 and will again be hosted in Abu Dhabi on April 16-18, 2019, with the goal of enhancing collaboration toward establishing a city on Mars by 2117. “This follows the UAE’s 2017 announcement of a 100-year plan to develop a settlement on the Red Planet,” SMG Aerospace said.
STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) learning is at the forefront of the UAE's efforts to develop a new generation of Emiratis capable of driving the Arab nation's aerospace programs, as the debate in the forward-thinking country, often led and enhanced during SMG Aerospace events, has focused on hiring students at younger and younger ages to give them time to develop into future industry pioneers.
The American University of Ras Al Khaimah announced in April that its students, as well as those from Abu Dhabi University, Khalifa University, the University of Sharjah and the United Arab Emirates University, would be participating at May’s Global Aerospace Summit to showcase satellite projects, as well as work on “commercial drones, hybrid rockets, aerospace engineering, aircraft simulation for modern flight management systems, and the fabrication of heavy lift aircraft.”
The next biennial Global Aerospace Summit is expected to take place in spring 2020.