Overview
Turning breakthroughs into real-world applications
This interactive one-day online masterclass will guide professionals working in aerospace and related industries through the fast-evolving and often confusing landscape of AI and Quantum technologies. Participants will learn to distinguish hype from reality, understand the current state of these fields and identify practical steps for implementation within their own organizations.
The aerospace sector is facing two of the most disruptive technologies of our time: Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Quantum. But between the hype and the headlines, how do you separate what’s real, what’s useful and what’s next for your business?
Led by three globally recognized experts, this interactive one-day online session, cuts through the noise and offers a unique opportunity to explore the transformative potential of these technologies particularly in the field of aerospace. You’ll be guided through the latest developments, the practical realities of adoption, and the organizational and regulatory challenges unique to aerospace.
This masterclass combines expert insight with interactive exercises, ensuring each participant can connect the discussion to their own context. You’ll leave with both a clear understanding of these technologies and actionable ideas for your organization.
From hype to reality
The session begins with an overview of AI and Quantum, highlighting their shift from futuristic concepts to rapidly advancing technologies with direct implications and industry applications.
On the AI side, we will explore concrete use cases, such as structural health monitoring and prognostics, showing where AI is already delivering benefits in aerospace structures and looking at those areas where capabilities remain at the research stage. Participants will also gain insight into the regulatory hurdles, with a straightforward discussion of the challenges of certifying AI and creating AI that is both productive for business and ethical for those it affects.
For Quantum, the focus will be on the “three Cs” – Capture (sensing), Communication (cryptography), and Compute (computing). We will highlight the current state of the art and the most promising near-term developments. Participants will gain clarity on where these technologies truly stand, what opportunities are emerging in this often noisy and speculative space, and how quantum may impact industries over the next 1, 3, 5, and 10 years. For example, quantum sensing is already being applied in research and industry, such as laser-based techniques that detect microscopic imperfections in aerospace materials – offering a glimpse of the practical applications to come.
Who is it for
This masterclass is designed for professionals in managerial and leadership roles – from team leaders to C-level executives – who want to understand the real opportunities and risks of AI and Quantum. While the insights also apply across industries, it is particularly relevant for aerospace professionals in technical areas who are responsible for processes, teams, or strategic decisions. This includes managers in aerospace manufacturing who see potential applications of AI but need clarity on how to explore them, executives balancing innovation with regulatory, safety, and cost concerns, and IT or technical leaders seeking a grounded understanding of what quantum computing can and cannot deliver today. Overall, it provides practical orientation for leaders and managers working with technology and technical teams, helping them understand current developments through real examples and practical insights.
What You'll Learn
After taking this masterclass, participants will be able to:
- Understand the ecosystem driving any new technology: players, motivations, hype, substance
- Differentiate usable AI vs overhyped AI today
- Evaluate whether an AI application should be used in your business (problem solved, alternatives, pros/cons, unseen risks/consequences)
- Understand the optimal way to implement AI to empower people, not replace them
- Explore the roadmap for usable Quantum technologies
- Discuss the drastic changes AI/Quantum will cause in the next decade
Practical Information
This masterclass is delivered fully online, allowing you to participate from anywhere. It runs from 13:00 to 17:00 CET on November 27, 2025. The session will combine expert-led presentations with interactive exercises.
This masterclass is part of TU Delft – Faculty of Aerospace Engineering’s lifelong learning initiative, designed to support and strengthen technical leadership skills in the aerospace sector while offering expanded opportunities for professional growth.
Details
Applying it to your organization
This masterclass is designed for a limited number of participants to allow for direct engagement with experts and peers. This format ensures you gain specific knowledge of how AI and Quantum will affect your organization: what challenges you will face in implementation – not only technically but also in change management – how to approach the risks of capital investment, and how to manage key issues and complexities that will arise.
By the end of the day, you’ll leave with a clear understanding of how these technologies can apply to your organization and with actionable ideas to move forward.
Masterclass Program Outline
Introduction: Masterclass overview, discussion with participants about motivation for joining and challenges they are facing
Session 1: New technology: a history lesson
Nathan Eskue
- We will discuss the familiar pattern of new technology and how it changes our society and industry, from early technologies such as steam engines to near future speculation on Quantum computing. We will show how there are typically the same players in any new technology curve: Supply equals science/academia, startup culture, established businesses, and government guidance on one side; Demand equals early adopters, commercial applications, government/defence applications and user applications on the other. Look at high level technology curves from the internet and smartphones and overlay the patterns to better understand where AI and Quantum technologies are on this curve. Finally, the group will discuss the best approaches when considering AI investments (problems solved, problems created, infrastructure needs, regulation, and change management).
- Interaction, Q&A, feedback from participants
Session 2: Using AI to improve aerospace structures
Dimitrios Zarouchas
- Dimitrios will present multiple case studies where AI algorithms and advanced sensors can create numerous benefits in the creation and use of aerospace structures. He will explore concepts of structural health monitoring, prognostics, and several other examples where AI can be implemented in industry today. He will discuss the spread of capabilities that exist only in academia on the one hand and those which are already in use on the other.
- Interaction, Q&A, feedback from participants
Session 3: The challenges of certifying AI in aerospace
Allison Fisher
- Allison will share her own path in the industry using AI, discussing both successes and the larger challenges she has faced. She will shed light on the new regulatory hurdles for AI development, showing why they are strict but necessary. Allison will discuss why she launched Verda AI to tackle AI responsibility, and how focusing on the ethical considerations of AI are not only an absolute necessity but can result in developing the most effective AI tools. She will explore the core pillars of what make AI “ethical”, and how each pillar contributes toward AI that can improve productivity, secure the needs of a business, and work in harmony with those that will use it.
- Interaction, Q&A, feedback from participants
Session 4: All about Quantum
Nathan Eskue
- In the final session, Nathan will present the current state of the art in the field of Quantum technologies, broken out into its various categories: Capture (Quantum sensing), Communication (Quantum cryptography), Compute (Quantum computers). For each area, the group will learn what accomplishments have been achieved at a fundamental science level, what is in development for the market in the near term, and what elements are hyped but have significant hurdles before they can be used. The group will discuss the effects of Quantum development for various industries that will likely occur in the next 1, 3, 5, and 10 years.
- Interaction, Q&A, feedback from participants
Final feedback session and conclusions
