Congratulations to the "Reach for the Sky Challenge Fund" projects which will inspire young people into aviation careers

For the last few years the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and Department for Transport (DfT) have run a competition for organisations to bid for money to support aviation outreach programmes for young people. 

The "Reach for the Sky" challenge fund wants to widen the future pool of people aspiring to work in aviation as the sector expands, involving big technological changes while aiming for greater sustainability.

As a huge fan of aircraft I'm rather keen on this sort of thing. I and a colleague did apply - we wanted to showcase "ComputAviation" careers (yes I made up that word) through our CS4FN* magazine and blog for schools. There's a huge overlap between computer science skills and all things aviation and we wanted to write about them all. Alas we weren't successful, we might try again next year. And we'll probably write about them anyway^ :) 

Happily at least two of the funded projects do relate to computer science (in bold below) so I'll be able to write about them on the work blog in 2026, so I'm looking forward to that. 

The projects named as being funded in 2025 are (press release 12 Dec 2025)

• Aerobility
• Air League 
• Bright Futures
• Codes4Drones 
• East London Advanced Technology Training (ELATT)
  
• Fantasy Wings 
• Get with the program
• Mason Foundation
  
• Tech, Engineering, Creative (TEC) Women

2024 funded projects were

• 4Ward Futures
• Aerobility
• ARPAS UK
• Based in Space
• Children’s Radio UK
• Codes4Drones
• Education and Employers Taskforce
• ELATT
• Get With the Program Ltd
• Kings Academy Lord Wilson
• London Luton Airport Operations ltd
• London Met university
• Manchester Airport Groups
• SaxonAir Charter
• TEC Women CIC
• The Kings Trust
• Youth and Community Connexions
• University of Sussex
  

2023 funded projects were

• Big Ideas Community Interest Group
• Cambridge Science Centre
• Education and Employers Taskforce
  
• Flight Crowd
• Harlow College
• Leicester Education and Business Company
• London City Airport
• The Air League
• TEC Women CIC
• University of Leeds

*CS4FN - Computer Science For Fun, a public engagement project from the School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science at Queen Mary University of London. We have a blog and a free computing magazine for schools; here are some of the aviation-related articles we've written. We also have a 'jobs in computing' site too with a section on jobs in aviation and computing.  

^Ideas for articles include: Ada programming language in avionics and Air Traffic Control, core rope memory in space flight, fly-by-wire avionics, software bugs, digital twins, FlightRadar, GPS, navigation, head-up displays (Pepper’s ghost), flight information boards, ticketing and booking (cookies), air traffic control, on-board wifi, entertainment systems (TVs etc) - and this being hacked, AI decision-making, engine testing, 3D printing, CAD design, biometric passports (Canadian story, Reclaim your name and non-standard letters), ATC (and some aircraft) still have software updates via floppy disks, radar, secure communications, radio (communication protocols), fuel efficiency, moving to battery operated flights, green / sustainability, weather modelling (turbulence), drones and safety, flight simulator software, cyber security, solar flares. Ground-collision avoidance, early use of calculation machines in WW2 aircraft. Computational aeroacoustics at QMUL. Abraham Wald and the ‘red dots’, safety features, checklists, expansion of aviation safety into other fields, semiotics (safety information) and signage at airports (also an example of abstraction), airport semaphore comms by ramp agents. Aviation influencers on TikTok (computing as a sharing medium).

 

 

 

Reach for the Sky Challenge Fund - CAA / DfT funding now open to encourage young people into aviation careers

I have literally (not figuratively) been clicking the first link every day for months as I'm going to apply for this funding. My project, if funded, will be an issue of the CS4FN magazine (plus a new aviation portal on the CS4FN blog about flying and careers) about the computer science and human-computer interaction involved in designing, flying and tracking of aircraft and development of lower carbon options. Very excited, wish me luck!

Here's what I've posted to psci-com, the mailing list for science communicators.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

 

 

 

 

The Civil Aviation Authority and Department for Transport are keen to encourage young people to find out about careers in aviation so this fund is less about public engagement with the science of flight and more about careers outreach (but the previously funded projects obviously do include plenty of flight-related scicomm!).

Reach For The Sky Challenge Fund
https://stem.caa.co.uk/reach-for-the-sky-challenge-fund/
• open today until 12 September 2025
• Total pot is £750k, likely spread among 10+ projects

They are looking for outstanding outreach projects that can meet the following three objectives:

1. Inspire the next generation of aviation professionals, championing the opportunities available in the sector.  Applicants’ activities should focus on developing interest and engagement with the opportunities available in aviation, showing clear links to career pathways. This might also involve supporting someone in developing skills or gaining experience that could be useful for a career in aviation or aerospace, but should not replace formal education, i.e., delivery of statutory licences or educational qualifications.

2. Reach individuals who would not otherwise be aware of opportunities available within the aviation sector. Applicants should consider how their project might benefit under-represented groups (i.e. women and girls, people from minority ethnic backgrounds, people with disabilities or those from lower socio-economic backgrounds).

3. Have a broad impact by reaching and engaging multiple people. This might be achieved through some form of mass participation event, delivery through an education setting or youth group, or via virtual methods that can reach a mass audience.

Other useful links
Today's press release:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/750000-to-break-down-barriers-and-get-more-young-people-into-aviation-jobs

Reach for the Sky evaluation (26 September 2024, updated 17 Feb 2025)
Evaluating the success of the Reach for the Sky Challenge Fund and its ability to get young people into aviation careers.

Last year's press release (they upped the pot with additional funding, to £810k, and funded 16 projects (actually 18 if you click on the 'successful applicants button on the first page linked).

PDF listing the 2024 successful applicants with a summary of their projects.

The CAA's (quite fun, cute cartoons page on Careers in Aviation and Aerospace which includes everything (engineering, programming, logistics, ground crew, pilots and cabin crew).

Generation Aviation Group (Gov.UK)
"Generation Aviation is a multistream programme that helps build an aviation workforce fit for the future by raising the profile of aviation careers, removing barriers to access and attracting diverse and talented people to tackle new technologies, decarbonisation and other emerging trends."

Flight tracking pages
FlightRadar24 | ADS-B Exchange | Flight Aware (enter an airport name to see what's coming and going)