Judith Milne is Chairman of the Royal Aeronautical Society Women in Aviation & Aerospace Committee. She is a specialist business aviation executive who has recently exited her own company, before being appointed RVP, EMEA for Universal Weather & Aviation (an international business aviation handling and trip support company headquartered in Houston, USA) in May this year. Her previous roles include Non-Executive Chairperson for Blink Ltd, a new start-up based in London, which raised $30m funding in 2007.
“…90 delegates attended the conference from a range of backgrounds and job roles, from across the aerospace industry… The Navy, RAF, Boeing, Airbus and other manufacturers were represented as well as business aviation companies and commercial airlines…”
Background to the Royal Aeronautical Society Women in Aviation Committee annual conference
The Royal Aeronautical Society’s Women in Aviation Committee (WAAC) holds an annual conference with the aim of bringing inspirational industry professionals together to address women at all levels within the Aviation & Aerospace industry and encouraging more young women to consider aviation and aerospace as a worthwhile and exciting career.
The 2014 conference was the launch pad for a new project run by the committee – an industry mentoring scheme aimed at supporting women and helping them achieve their full potential within their chosen career within aviation.
Key speakers
Speakers from the Royal Air Force, Royal Navy, Boeing, the University of the West of England and Talent Futures discussed their own personal experiences of professional development and gave advice to delegates on how to progress their own careers.
The morning provided delegates with the chance to hear personal stories from Jenny Body OBE, Past President, RAeS, João Miguel Santos, Vice President, Boeing International Africa and Sham Musthapha, Systems Engineering Manager, Boeing Defence, who shared their personal and professional journeys that led them to their current positions. After the networking lunch Judith Milne, Chair of the WAAC launched the mentoring scheme.
Event attendees
90 delegates attended the conference from a range of backgrounds and job roles, from across the aerospace industry. We are pleased that we saw people who had attended previous years as well as a number of new faces, which highlights the importance of the valuable work the WAAC are doing.
The Navy, RAF, Boeing, Airbus and other manufacturers were represented as well as business aviation companies and commercial airlines.
The event was sponsored by Universal Weather & Aviation. Universal Weather and Aviation, Inc. was founded in 1959 by former Air Force meteorologist and network weatherman Tom Evans, who had a vision to provide a service no one else in the world ever had before – customised weather forecasting for business aviation.
That initial vision would continue to grow over the following half century. As business aviation flourished and grew, Universal evolved adding new services and solutions to meet the changing and ever-growing needs of those who utilise business aviation, regardless of their base of operations or whether a trip is 300 or 3,000 miles.
Key themes of the event
The key themes for the day were to focus on bringing professionals from all areas of the aviation industry together to share knowledge, tips and advice, together with promoting and encouraging women in the aviation industry to advance in their career and to raise the profile of the RAeS, WAAC and its mentoring scheme.
Delegates were provided with valuable insights into the latest technology and current thinking in industry. They were also given the opportunity to hear from Dr Susan Durbin, Associate Professor, in Employment Studies, Centre for Employment Studies Research and the University of the West of England, who outlined why mentoring really matters, supported by real life examples from the Royal Navy, Royal Air Force and Talent Futures.
For more information on careers advice and guidance in the aerospace industry, please visit http://aerosociety.com/
https://twitter.com/AeroSociety
https://www.facebook.com/RoyalAeronauticalSociety
