The SkillUP Erasmus+ project – a collaboration between 12 partners from France, Italy, Portugal, Turkey and Malta – has come to an end. This project began in 2020 with the intent to investigate how the aviation landscape will change in the near future (2030 and beyond) and to develop training resources to help aviation professionals – including airline pilots, air traffic controllers, drone pilots and airport operators – be better prepared for the future. 

SkillUP produced three main outcomes: 

• An Air Sector Skills Transformation Map (ASSTM): This is an online tool which provides newcomers and professionals with a glimpse of the technology transformations, profiles and skills which will be expected in the aviation sector. This tool can be accessed online.
• A portfolio of training courses: The project partners developed eight short training courses which focus on topics such as problem-solving and decision-making; situation awareness; change management; stress management; and Artificial Intelligence (AI) for aviation applications. These training programmes were piloted in 2022 with the participation of aviation professionals and students. These programmes are freely available online. 
• A portfolio of assessment tools: Various assessment tools were developed to complement the training courses and to assess the knowledge and skills of trainees before, during and after training. These tools include: self-assessment questionnaires, problem-based activities, concept maps, case studies, multiple-choice tests and behaviour questionnaires.

The end-of-project meeting was organised in Lisbon (Portugal) on the 16th and 17th of March, together with a public dissemination event to share the project’s key outcomes and get feedback from aviation stakeholders. 

The SkillUP project was coordinated by DeepBlue – an Italian research and consulting company. The University of Malta participated in the project though the Institute of Aerospace Technologies which led one of the project’s work packages and was responsible for a number of tasks, including: conducting an online survey with aviation professionals; developing future personas and study pathways for pilots; developing an online training course on the application of AI in aviation; and disseminating the project’s outcomes through focus groups, webinars and publications.

For further information about SkillUP, please contact Dr Inġ. Jason Gauci or visit the project’s website.