Day 1
08:30 - Full day programme
08:30
REGISTRATION AND REFRESHMENTS
09:00
MORNING CHAIR’S OPENING REMARKS
Helen Meese, Head of Engineering in Society, Institution of Mechanical Engineers
SESSION 1 - UPSTREAM AND DOWNSTREAM APPLICATIONS
09:10
KEYNOTE ADDRESS: SPACE IN THE 21ST CENTURY: THE UK STORY
Stuart Martin, CEO, Satellite Applications Catapult
• An overview of how the space sector is undergoing revolutionary change
• Understanding how commercial businesses and a new breed of entrepreneurs are
leading space innovation
• An explanation of why the space sector is generating so much interest and how the UK is
set to become a major protagonist
09:40
FOSTERING INNOVATION IN APPLICATION TECHNOLOGY
Tim Just, Head of Space, Innovate UK
• The UK space industry is a hidden success story and key to UK economic growth
• Earth Observation (EO) and telecommunications are set to make significant contributions
to technology innovation
• Bringing together the UK’s innovators and ensuring the UK is at the forefront of satellite
technology development over the next 30 years
10:10
EARTH OBSERVATION: CHANGING VIEWS OF EARTH
Representative of Surrey Satellite Technology (Invited)
10:40
NETWORKING REFRESHMENT BREAK
11:10
COMMERCIAL TELECOMS: THE DRIVING FORCE OF THE SPACE ECONOMY
Richard Peckham, Business Development Director Space, Airbus Defence & Space
• Contributing over $300bn to the entire global space economy
• Understanding how satellites are the only means of connection for those in remote
locations, in the air or on the oceans
• Broadcasting to millions of consumers from a single transmitter, satellites make for the
most efficient means of delivery
• Preparing for an already mature sector to evolve as internet entrepreneurs and
commercial companies look to invest
SESSION 2 - ENHANCING EDUCATION AND SKILLS IN THE UK SPACE SECTOR
Chaired by Abbie Hutty, Senior Structures Engineer, Airbus Defence & Space
11:40
SPACE EDUCATION AND SKILLS: SUSTAINING THE GROWTH OF THE UK SPACE
SECTOR
Anu Ojha, Director, National Space Academy
• The UK space sector workforce: upstream and downstream statistics, characteristics and
forecasts for growth
• Government strategies and industry perspectives: addressing the future challenges for
space sector workforce growth
• Sustaining the space skills supply lines: existing and future programmes for support at
school, university and postgraduate/professional levels
• Space exploration and space exploitation: balancing the competing demands and
prioritisation between space research and space industry growth and the implications for
space skills development
12:10
Q&A SESSION WHERE INVITED GRADUATES AND STUDENTS WILL OFFER
INSIGHT INTO STUDYING AND WORKING WITHIN THE SPACE SECTOR
Loughborough College, Airbus Defence & Space and De Montfort University
12:50
NETWORKING LUNCH
13:50
GROWING THE SPACE INDUSTRY TECHNICAL SKILLS MARKET
Daniel White, Head of Technology Innovation/UK R&T, Airbus Defence & Space
• Identifying ways to engage with students and graduate engineers
• The recruitment challenge
• Building partnerships with academic institutions, universities and SMEs
SESSION 3 - INVESTING IN THE UK SPACE INDUSTRY
Chaired by Helen Meese, Head of Engineering in Society, Institution of Mechanical
Engineers
14:20
MAKING THE UK THE PLACE FOR SPACE
Alice Bunn, Director of Policy, UK Space Agency
• Shared Government/industry targets for growth
• The challenges of achieving these targets
• The ways Government is supporting the sector in overcoming these
14:50
NETWORKING REFRESHMENT BREAK
15:20
THE ROLE OF LEICESTER LOCAL ENTERPRISE PARTNERSHIP (LLEP) AND
UNIVERSITIES IN SUPPORTING SPACE INNOVATION AND SECTOR GROWTH
Corin Crane, Director, Leicester Local Enterprise Partnership (LLEP) and Paul
Monks, Professor Atmospheric Chemistry and Earth Observation Science, University
of Leicester
• Overview of the LLEP strategy
• Perspective of experts from University of Leicester
• Examples of local work and research undertaken
15:50
SUPPORTING ECONOMIC GROWTH THROUGH SPACE EXPLORATION
Prof Martin Barstow, President, Royal Astronomical Society
• The technological developments made from the current space programme, the direct
benefits to industry and the downstream impact
• Case studies from UK experience
• The vision for space exploration in the next decade and potential stimulation for new
research and innovation through the technological developments needed
16:20
IT IS ROCKET SCIENCE! DESIGNING DEPLOYABLE STRUCTURES FOR SPACE
Mike Lawton, CEO, Oxford Space Systems
• A look at some of the innovative designs and materials that Oxford Space Systems (OSS)
is commercialising for the global satellite industry
• Why the space environment can be fiendishly tricky to design mechanical systems for
• A personal look at the experiences of being an SME in the satellite sector
16:50
SME Q&A PANEL SESSION
Chaired by Helen Meese, Head of Engineering in Society, Institution of Mechanical
Engineers
Invited panellists include Clyde Space and Oxford Space Systems
17:10
CHAIR'S CLOSING REMARKS
17:20
END OF SEMINAR