Student Leaders Summit 2026

Kicking off 2026 on a fresh note, AAIS hosted its first event of the year, bringing together students from various universities and polytechnics for the annual Student Leaders Summit. Building on the success of last year’s inaugural edition, the second edition of the summit, held on 16 January 2026, welcomed over 70 students and industry professionals passionate about leadership, innovation, and the future of aviation and aerospace. This year’s theme, “Navigating the Skies of Change,” focused on emerging developments and innovations across the aviation and aerospace industry, spanning airports, aerospace, air traffic management, and the space sector.

The morning session, held at Bombardier Aerospace Services Singapore, saw enthusiastic participation from students across various institutions, including Embry-Riddle Asia, NUS, NTU, SIT, TUM-Asia, Nanyang Polytechnic and Temasek Polytechnic. The programme started with a welcome address by AAIS Chief Executive, Mr Chew Hwee Yong. Followed by a captivating keynote presentation from Mr Paul Tan, Programme Director (Airport) at International Centre for Aviation Innovation (ICAI) on “Navigating the Skies of Change: A Singapore Perspective by ICAI”, on the exciting developments happening at Singapore Changi Airport and opportunities in the aviation sector.

A highlight of the morning was the executive panel discussion, which featured speakers and representatives from the aerospace, air traffic management, and space sector. The session offered participants a diverse and well-rounded industry perspective on the panel topic of “Navigating the Skies of Change: Charting Tomorrow’s Innovations Today”.

The panel featured Mr Iain Rodger, Managing Director at GE Aerospace; Ms Este Rosli, Head of Partnerships at AIR Lab; Mr Richard Lau, CCO at Addvalue Technologies and is moderated by Dr Jack Patel. Panellists and participants engaged in robust discussions exploring topics on innovation and change, as well as the critical role leadership plays in encouraging innovation in different organisations.

The morning programme then concluded with a networking lunch, where students had the chance to engage with speakers, fellow peers and various industry representatives.

In the afternoon, a group of student leaders went on an exclusive visit to Bell Textron Asia’s facility in Seletar Aerospace Park, where they had the chance to tour the Bell Helicopters and Textron aircraft hangars. During the visit, the students gained insights on the various maintenance and operational processes that take place behind the scenes in an MRO facility, giving them a deeper understanding of the aviation and aerospace industry.

The students also had the opportunity to connect and interact with Mr Mark Loh, General Manager at Bell Textron Asia, who shared insights on the upcoming developments happening in the aviation and aerospace industry and encouraged the young student leaders to continue to pursue their passions and interests.

The day then wrapped up with a hands-on workshop, where student leaders from various universities came together to discuss and brainstorm potential opportunities for future cross-institutional partnerships and initiatives.