Students welcome to NLR
5th generation Air Force innovation symposium: solving a puzzle without an example
On 17 October 2018, an innovation symposium took place at the Netherlands Aerospace Centre (NLR) in Amsterdam in collaboration organised by NLR, Royal Institute of Engineers, Defence and Safety Department (KIVI) and the Royal Netherlands Air Force. The symposium was led by Guido Kerbusch of the NLR.
The symposium focused on the 5th Generation Air Force. What challenges and solutions can be identified? The aim was to generate innovative ideas for the 5th Generation Air Force that the KLu is heading for, where technology will be the tool. There was a wide range of participants from defence, universities and colleges, knowledge institutes and companies. The symposium formed the preparation for a development marathon week that will take place from 19-23 November. The aim of this development marathon is to provide a solution to a current Royal Air Force problem within a week. The aim of this innovation symposium was to identify this problem.
To this end, 12 teams of 5-7 people consisting of participants from the Ministry of Defence, students, knowledge institutes and companies were tasked with defining a problem in response to a short presentation, together with a possible solution direction. These problems were then assessed by a selection committee, which ultimately selected a winning problem. The winning team will work with external experts to generate a solution for the defined problem. The entire process was led by Boukje Vastbinder, CEO of Noorderwind http://www.noorderwind.co/, an organisation whose mission is to innovate faster by having experts from different disciplines develop ideas into usable, game-changing solutions for a short period of time. This method is called the SPRINT method. A team from Noorderwind helped the working groups formulate their ideas into actionable definitions.
The day kicked off with tour d'horizon on the future air force by the Deputy Commander Air Force, Gen-maj Mario Verbeek. He likened the future to solving a puzzle without the example of the box and without edges and therefore necessarily difficult to solve. This kasn't happen without innovation in the broadest sense. For this, creativity and stepping outside the box is necessary from every KLu employee. But the KLu also challenges others to think along and work on innovative solutions for the future. Then lt-col Mike van Weelderen went into more detail on the building blocks needed to realise this future air force. To stimulate creativity from within the organisation, every KLu employee will receive a smartphone at the end of this year. How to use this medium will be 'learning by doing'.
Teams were then formed and after a brief introduction, the 3 topics were presented. The first topic was introduced by Chief Data Science Cell of the Royal Air Force on the significance of big data for the 5th generation Air Force. The second by the company Infinity Labs how education and training can be more effective and efficient through Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality. The third topic by a representative 982 Squadron in Dongen on application of technology in mission support. After each presentation, the working groups were given 20 minutes to identify problems and challenges and formulate them in a sentence. This was judged by a multi-person jury consisting of staff from NLR, Noorderwind, and the participating companies and universities. The final winner was the team with the following problem statement:.
How can we facilitate the identification of operational, technological 'boss over boss' solutions through the new smart phones Samsung phones.
The solution will be worked on during the development marathon week where team members supported by SPRINT specialists from North Wind will produce the solution into a usable product in 5 days.
Reprinted with permission from 'Our Air Force'. Written by: Tom de Bok
Description
Students and young engineers help think about 5th Gen Air Force
On 17 October 2018, KIVI DV (Royal Institute of Engineers, Defence and Safety Department), NLR (Netherlands Aerospace Centre) and the Air Force are joining forces. Especially for technical students and young engineers, the parties will organise an innovation symposium with the aim of generating innovative ideas for a 5th Generation Air Force. Technology will be central to this. What challenges will the Air Force face in the future and what should it anticipate now?
The innovation symposium is an essential link to the development sprint week that will take place in November. In it, a team of defence, students, knowledge institutes and companies will think about a real defence issue with the aim of getting a little closer to a potential solution. This issue will be identified during the symposium on 17 October!
The symposium will open with a look at the future Air Force and the building blocks needed for it. During the day, three innovation topics will be launched. For each of these topics, the task is for participants to identify problems and challenges; a process that will be group-driven. At the end, all challenges will be brought together and assessed for relevance to the development sprint during the subsequent drinks.
If this challenge appeals to you, you are of course also welcome to join the development marathon in November.
Location
Organiser
Defence and Security
Name and contact details for information
Marjolein de Wit - Blok
