Mars colonist? VTOL aerial taxi entrepreneur? Battle UCAV Al tactician? 3D printing optimiser? There is no doubt that the aerospace careers of tomorrow will be as varied as the multitude of aerospace, aviation and space careers today - with ones that we cannot even imagine. Yet a common thread links many of these - the unstoppable rise of digitisation of the 'Fourth industrial revolution' that is seeing our lives transformed at a dizzying speed by Big Data, Al and robotics. Three articles in this issue serve to make that point: In 'Training for tomorrow today' David Learmount looks at how Boeing is updating its flight training for Millennials. In 'Workers at the dawn of new aerospace' Rosalind Azouzi looks at the digital skills that will be needed for this new generation of aerospace professionals. Finally, in 'Time for a British Third Offset' - digitalisation and the 'start-up' tech gurus may also hold the key to the RAF recovering its competitive edge and becoming a 21 st century information-driven military force. While much has been written about 'robots taking away jobs', it is likely that the most fulfilling aerospace careers in the future will be ones in which computers complement humans and vice versa - each playing to each other's strengths. All these suggest that aerospace is entering an exciting new era - powered not by kerosene and Jet-A1 but by Big Data, analytics and 'the Cloud'. Caution is required about some of these claims of tech 'disruption' - it is worth remembering that aviation has always been an innovative industry. In seeking out these 'digital natives', it is important that the industry holds on to its roots - and especially the human element. Social media, for example, allows people to connect with like-minded others around the world, yet it may be that it is a complete stranger you bump into, purely by chance at your local RAeS Branch lecture, who sets in motion an idea, business or technology that changes the world.
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