The School of Engineering and Materials Science (SEMS) was delighted to welcome back Mr John Korna, Senior Systems Engineer, and Dr Marc Thomas, Data Scientist and Digital Twins Lead, from NATS (National Air Traffic Services) for an industrial guest lecture delivered to students undertaking the Final Year Project A5, Future Aerodrome Decision Support System.

Building on the successful collaboration between Queen Mary University of London and NATS, this year's lecture provided students with valuable insights into real-world air traffic control operations, emerging artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, and their potential to transform the future of aviation.

Mr Korna introduced the fundamentals of air traffic control and airport operations, highlighting the complexities of managing aircraft movements, maintaining safety, and ensuring operational efficiency. He also explained how surveillance technologies, operational data and weather conditions influence decision-making at airports.

Dr Thomas presented recent developments from Project Bluebird, a major research collaboration involving NATS, The Alan Turing Institute and the University of Exeter. He demonstrated how probabilistic digital twins and AI agents are being developed to support air traffic control, including the use of reinforcement learning and optimisation techniques. Students were also introduced to recent progress in evaluating AI agents against professional air traffic controller assessment standards, illustrating the growing potential of AI in safety-critical aviation environments.

The second part of the lecture focused on the students' industrial project, which uses Manchester Airport as a case study. The NATS experts outlined the challenges of predicting aircraft turnaround times and introduced real-world operational datasets, including radar surveillance, ADS-B and meteorological data. Students were encouraged to explore how data-driven modelling and machine learning could improve turnaround time predictions and support more efficient airport operations.

Led by Dr Xinwei Wang, Lecturer in Systems Engineering at SEMS, the project offers students a valuable opportunity to apply their knowledge of data science, machine learning, optimisation and systems engineering to practical challenges identified by an industry partner.

The lecture further strengthened the ongoing partnership between Queen Mary and NATS, demonstrating the importance of connecting engineering education with industrial research and innovation. Through direct engagement with industry experts and access to real-world aviation problems, students gain practical experience while developing skills relevant to the future of intelligent air transport systems.

We sincerely thank John and Marc for their continued support and for sharing their expertise and exciting research developments with our students.