Case Study: Aerospace Industry

Background

Our client is a federal institution of the government of the UAE. It is responsible for the development of the capacity and capability of the UAE in the field of space technology in many applications. The client has overseen the launch and control of several satellites and manages a portfolio of space related scientific and technological developments and services.

Challenge

Atton Institute was asked to present the course at very short notice. Our trainer and business development executive met with the Innovation Manager and HR Manager of the client, to discuss the unique requirements. Using qualitative research interview techniques, the trainer obtained a fully rounded and detailed understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing the client related to Innovation and Creative Thinking. These included, amongst others:

• Scepticism among staff related to the innovation process
• Resource constraints restricting innovation and creative thinking: time, budget, and manpower (especially time)
• Lack of understanding of the innovation process
• Poor management of the evaluation and uptake of innovation ideas into the innovation management system

We had initially thought that the client would be interested in Innovation and Creative Thinking primarily from a space engineering perspective. Instead, we found that besides engineering, almost the entire spectrum of support functions was going to be present in the training: reception, HR, IT, Admin, etc.

This represented a challenge from the training perspective. For example, engineers were worried about how to increase the payload for the satellites, whereas the reception people desired to make the reception and waiting area a world-class experience for visitors.

We were further challenged by widely divergent education and experience levels.

Solution

To meet these challenges, Atton Institute ensured the following:

• Using a trainer who has experience in both engineering R&D and business administration
• Designing the training material to explicitly address the unique requirements mentioned above
• Including a number of creativity and ideation processes so that all professional groups in the training could find process(es) that suited them
• Minimising theory and making the training as practical, visual, and hands-on as possible
• Adopting a training style designed to generate enthusiasm and belief in the potential of ideation processes and innovation management

Results

Atton Institute is very pleased to say that the training intervention was highly successful. Both the delegates and the client’s management provided outstanding feedback. In a personal discussion, the HR Manager mentioned that the course had exceeded her expectations. She also mentioned that the course had motivated her personally to invest much more energy into innovation and creative thinking. The Innovation Manager also mentioned she was very happy with the outcome, and that the training had more than met her objectives.

To get more information about our training solutions, please contact:

Admissions Director – Vlad Podolyak

+971 52 684 7088

vlad.p@atton-institute.com