alta Events

Organised by the alta Mentoring Steering Group, this event celebrates National Mentoring Day and highlights the importance of mentorship in aerospace.

Attendees will have the opportunity to hear from an inspiring speaker who is a leader in their respective fields, sharing their experiences and insights on the impact of mentoring. The conference will also provide valuable networking opportunities, allowing professionals to connect, exchange ideas, and foster meaningful mentorship relationships.

Following the event, attendees are invited to join for drinks, continuing conversations, building connections, and celebrating the power of mentorship.

This empowering webinar, led by Professional Certified Coach Sadia Ghazanfar, brought together current and prospective alta mentors and mentees for a transformative session on overcoming internal barriers to leadership. Drawing from neuroscience, positive psychology, and over 15 years of leadership experience, Sadia helped attendees explore the role of the inner critic, engage in self-reflection, and learn practical techniques to strengthen their inner mentor. Through thoughtful discussion and guided exercises, participants left with valuable tools to build confidence, tackle self-doubt, and continue their personal and professional development journey. The session also introduced an opportunity to deepen this work through Sadia’s upcoming group coaching programme.

Watch the full recording on the Society’s YouTube Channel here.

This event featured Julie Garland, who shared her career journey into the Drone and Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) sector and explored emerging trends and future opportunities within the industry, with a particular focus on the experiences and progression of women in aviation.

The lecture formed part of the Amy Johnson Named Lecture series, established by the Royal Aeronautical Society to honour Amy Johnson CBE, the pioneering aviator who became the first woman to fly solo from Britain to Australia in 1930 and went on to set numerous aviation records. The event provided attendees with insights into innovation, leadership and the evolving role of women in shaping the future of aviation.

This event celebrated National Mentoring Day by bringing together professionals from the aviation, aerospace and space sectors to highlight the impact of mentoring on career development and inclusion.

The event featured opening remarks from RAeS President Kerissa Khan MRAeS, updates from Professor Sue Durbin FRAeS and Wing Commander Christine Matthews MRAeS on the work of the alta Mentoring Platform and the Women in Aviation, Aerospace and Space Committee, and a keynote address from Katherine Bennett, Chief Executive Officer of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, on career transitions and cross-sector innovation. Attendees also participated in networking and speed networking activities, providing opportunities to build professional connections, share experiences and support talent development across the industry.

The Royal Aeronautical Society and Women in Aviation and Aerospace Charter were delighted to present “Mentoring: A Game-changer for women in the industry”. This event will took place on Wednesday 26 October at RAeS Headquarters, 4 Hamilton Place, London W1J7BQ.

The aim of the event was to highlight and promote the alta mentoring platform, launched in 2019 by the RAeS Women in Aerospace and Aviation Committee, in partnership with the University of the West of England, Airbus, the Royal Air Force and Little Blue Private Jets Ltd. This event was an opportunity to learn more about the platform and the benefits that mentoring provides for women in the aerospace and aviation industry.

The event consisted of presentations from Professor Sue Durbin and Stella Warren (UWE and alta founding members) and Jacqueline Sutton (Farnborough and WiAAC), there was an opportunity for attendees to put questions to a panel as well as an opportunity to network and chat over a glass of wine!

This event was aimed at female members of the Royal Air Force and explored the value of mentoring and the opportunities available through the alta mentoring platform. The session examined the meaning and benefits of mentoring, potential barriers to participation, and alta’s relational approach, which views mentoring as a mutually beneficial process where both mentors and mentees learn from one another.

Attendees gained insight into the purpose, development and objectives of the alta platform, as well as its role in supporting mentoring relationships across the aviation and aerospace industry. The event concluded with a Q&A session, offering participants the opportunity to discuss mentoring practices and professional development opportunities with the speakers.

You can watch the event on our YouTube channel here.

Alessandra Badino, Head of Sustainability & Environment for Airbus in the UK presented the top level Airbus sustainability strategy and then introduced three successful Airbus female colleagues who talked about their current roles in developing the next generation sustainable solutions for aviation:

• Ria Murphy-Tanner – Future Wing Programme Leader – with over twenty years of experience in the industry, Ria is currently working on the Airbus flagship Wing of Tomorrow programme, leading multifunctional teams to identify, research, define and develop Wing technologies for the future.
• Beth Moreton – Hydrogen Programme Fuel System Integrator – with experience in fuel and control systems, in-service support, airworthiness and programme engineering, Beth is currently working on the first hydrogen powered zero emission aircraft planned to enter into service in 2035.
• Chelsea Willetts – Fuel Properties Scientist – with her degree in Chemistry, Chelsea has been combining her passion for science and for sustainability in the development of solutions to allow the utilization of Sustainable Aviation Fuels and improving emission control. She will also present some innovation projects she has been involved in and how some of her work will also transfer to the development of hydrogen based technologies.

There will also be introductions from members of the RAeS Women in Aerospace & Aviation Committee and time for a Q&A at the end of the talks.

The RAeS hosted a joint workshop with the Women in Aerospace & Aviation Charter on 23 November, to showcase the recently launched Resource Hub which promotes key resources to support gender balance, including alta.

This event was aimed at anyone who would like to know more about alta, which also included sessions on other useful resources including careers, diversity and inclusion training and ACAS support.

The RAeS hosted this event to celebrate the success of the alta mentoring platform, a collaboration between the Society, Airbus, Royal Air Force, University of the West of England and Little Blue Private Jets, to mark National Mentoring Day 2021.

The event featured a talk by Judith Milne, one of the founding members of alta and the founder of her own private jet business, also consulting throughout the aviation industry on business development, diversity and planning.

Judith’s talk focused upon why she decided to become a mentor for other women, her early experiences of mentoring, challenges along the way and how she has helped other women through mentoring. Judith also talked about what she has learnt from mentoring, the successes, the impact mentoring has had on her own career and the power of female networks.

We also heard from Alessandra Badino, a founding member of alta and Head of Sustainability & Environment for Airbus in the UK with over twenty years’ experience in the industry, and Erika Ramos, a research engineer at Airbus currently leading innovative developments in commercial aircraft manufacturing processes.

The Covid-19 pandemic has forced many people in the UK to work from home, turning them into flexible workers. While some have embraced this new way of working, others have struggled to make it work for them. Deriving from British Academy / Leverhulme Trust-funded research into boundary management among flexible workers, this presentation will outline the tenets of boundary theory and show how you may apply these ideas to help you manage your work-nonwork boundary more effectively.

This webinar featured Dr Stefanie Reissner who discussed her research on the impact of home working during the pandemic and creating work-life boundaries.

Watch the webinar here.

The power of connectivity and how female pilots have come together during these challenging times.

International Women’s Day (IWD) is an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of women, to share experiences and to come together to raise awareness about gender equality. The past year has been a challenge for us all. The impact of the pandemic has been profound, especially within the aviation industry and for pilots, with a disproportionate impact upon women across industries.

This event was presented by Captain Marnie Munns, and was a story for all women. This event was especially poignant as it was held on the second anniversary of the launch of the alta Mentoring Scheme in the aviation and aerospace industry.

Watch the event here.

This was the second mentoring session held by the alta team following the success of the first session in June 2020. This session allowed attendees to explore different areas including:

1. How to make new networks work and breaking into existing conversations
2. Making the most of on-line networking
3. Why women only networks?

This event was the first virtual alta mentoring session offering alta mentees the opportunity to connect online during the lockdown, share thoughts and concerns about their career progression and offer some peer-to-peer mentoring in an relaxed and informative environment, similar to a virtual coffee morning.

This was the first online networking session, leading to more specific or specialist discussions going forwards.