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Taking place over the weekend of 14-16 July, this year’s edition celebrated 100 years of air-to-air refuelling, as over 180,000 visitors attended in total!

QinetiQ’s presence at the show featured our ETPS aircraft in the static display area, whilst the team were also stationed in one of the hospitality chalets and at our fantastic stand in the Techno Zone. The latter served as the perfect platform to promote our STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) expertise to attendees of all ages with a high focus on younger people ranging from 5-17 years old.

The team – consisting of apprentices, graduates and those with a year in industry - organised and executed QinetiQ’s successful presence at the TechnoZone. The contribution of these volunteers was invaluable in creating and arranging STEM activities, travel and accommodation, safety and running of the stand over the three days.

This year’s STEM activities were as follows:

• Banshee Speed Build: Delegates were required to build a 3D printed Banshee Aerial Target scale model in a time challenge, winning a prize if completed.
• Cyber 'Qube' Challenge: This crack-the-code activity, supplied by the STEM team at Malvern, required attendees to solve the code in order to open a safe and retrieve the goodies inside.
• Head in a Hole Board: This allowed attendees to pose for photos as an ETPS fast jet pilot walking towards an aircraft.
  
  

Read on to find out how our STEM team found their weekend helping to inspire the next generation to get interested in STEM:

Kyle Roberts – Level 6 Software Engineering Apprentice based at Portsdown Technology Park & RIAT 2023 Core Team Lead

“Overall the weekend was a roaring success on introducing the next generation to STEM and QinetiQ. I think it’s great that early careers gives us opportunities like this to run our own projects with plenty of support from the early careers advisors, STEM leads, and Events/Marketing team. I just want to give an enormous thanks to everyone that helped on delivering this fantastic event, which is QinetiQ’s largest STEM event we take part in."

Nicola Harrison- Level 6 Software Engineering Apprentice based at Farnborough

“This was my first time ever at RIAT and it was such a blast! Despite the heavy rain it’s safe to say it was a huge success. The team of people that I was working with really made the experience one to remember. My role on the day was helping to run the activities on our stand, although I mostly was supporting with the Cyber Cube I also had the chance to help out with the Banshee activity. It was lovely to see everyone having a good time with the activities we were running, and hoping we inspired a good few people!”

Sara Collins – Level 6 Chartered Manager Apprentice based at Farnborough

“I was elated to be picked to represent QinetiQ at the Royal International Air Tattoo in Fairford this year. My personal highlight was seeing the Red Arrows flying! It was a super event in itself despite the disastrous weather. Friday particularly was so wet that it was probably to the benefit of our stand. The footfall was incredible given the people taking shelter in the Techno Zone, and therefore we had a great opportunity to show off our activities and entice people towards our company. I spent a lot of time with The Cube activity, and it was really eye opening to see how the minds of our prospective generation work when trying to crack the codes. I was in awe of all of them constantly, and it was a great pleasure to be a part off. Big massive thank you to the core team for organising everything and ensuring that we all were happy with what we were doing.”

Mei Tsang- Cyber Year in Industry based at Malvern

“I had never attended an air show before RIAT 2023 and can safely say that it has lived up to its reputation. I felt proud to represent QinetiQ at the Techno Zone and engage with both children and adults through the STEM activities we had, and even promote a bit of healthy competition with our Banshee Target timed building contest! It was also incredibly rewarding seeing the kids' faces light up as I guided them through the 4 challenges of the Cyber Qube which enabled them to unlock it - I was honestly surprised at the amount of determination that they had. The event has made me realise just how well-known QinetiQ is in the defence industry and what an impact the company makes. The air tattoo itself has a remarkable atmosphere and of course both the static and flying displays exceeded my expectations far beyond what I could’ve thought; I absolutely love the Red Arrows! Many thanks to Steve Barley and the core team for such an amazing opportunity.”

Sophie Pym - Business Change Manager, Group Performance Excellence at Farnborough

“It has been a privilege to represent QinetiQ as a STEM ambassador for the second year running at RIAT 2023. Having received feedback from RIAT 2022, the team worked collaboratively to design and organise this years’ stand to a higher standard, offering interactive activities and promotional material to suit all age groups. I thoroughly enjoyed witnessing the competitive side of children from schools, guides and scout groups, but also young adults, parents and even our QinetiQ Leadership Team as they got stuck in to our ‘Build a Banshee in record time’ competition. Shout out to Wilbur Wright for designing the fantastic 3D Printed Banshee Models for the activity. Although the weather was a little different to last year, it still didn’t stop me exploring the event (at the risk of getting soaked), networking and having fun. A particular highlight for me was witnessing the 2023 Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 display, sitting on a jet with Polish Air force Squadron and meeting the Canadian 436 Squadron. Huge thanks to Kyle Roberts for leading and the core team for delivering another successful STEM display at RIAT 2023”

Kieran Sharp - Aerospace Engineering Degree Apprentice at Boscombe Down

"This year was my second time representing QinetiQ at RIAT as a STEM ambassador, and once again, it was a great experience. I really enjoyed engaging with so many young people and introducing them to the activities that we put on (code breaking and building the Banshee target drones) and was impressed by how easily some of the younger children picked them up. It was also great to see so much interest in the Early Careers program from some of the older people at the show at both an Apprentice and Graduate level, and I enjoyed sharing some of my experiences on the scheme with them. Aside from the activities in the Techno Zone it was also great to be able to watch some of the air show from the QinetiQ hospitality tent, which provided a great opportunity for networking with some of the senior leadership team from across the business. Thanks to all of the core team for organising another great event, and I’m excited to see what next year brings."