Registration is officially open for the second Engage 2 Hackathon, taking place from 20 to 21 October 2026 in Zagreb, Croatia. Organised with the SESAR project AWARE, this intensive 24-hour competition challenges the next generation of aviation talent to solve a real-world predictive ATM task using exclusive datasets.
The registration deadline is 7 September 2026 at 11:59pm CET. All detailed guidelines, eligibility criteria, and the official registration form are hosted on our Wiki.
Before applying, please read all provided information carefully before registering. By enrolling in the competition, all participants officially accept and agree to abide by the full Terms & Conditions. Places are limited and will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis to eligible teams.
The challenge: teams of 2 to 4 individuals will have exactly 24 hours to develop and submit an innovative digital solution.
Eligibility: open to all nationalities. Participants must be 18 or older and have fewer than five years of professional work experience.
Hospitality: one night’s accommodation at the iNova Hotel in Zagreb and scheduled meals are fully covered by the organisers. Participants must arrange their own travel.
The Grand Prize: the winning team will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to Airspace World 2027 in Lisbon, Portugal, alongside exclusive industry networking opportunities.
Engage 2 Insight Trajectory, a high-impact game designed to transform how students and young professionals experience, will take place at Airspace World on Thursday 28th May. Moving beyond traditional event tours, this career-strategy experience challenges participants with structured professional engagement.
Equipped with a Future Track Map, participants will step into the shoes of a career investigator. The goal is to navigate the exhibition floor to engage with industry experts in four key roles: Cybersecurity specialist, AI specialist, UAS Operations, and Airspace Management& Design Specialist.
The Engage 2 project successfully completed its third Open Day last week in Belgrade, marking another milestone in introducing students to the vast career landscape of ATM. Held as part of the“Transport and Traffic Business Days” (TTBD) organized by the Students’ Association of the University of Belgrade, the event fostered high levels of engagement and curiosity among the next generation of transport professionals.
Exploring the ATM career universe
On 22 April, the Engage 2 stand became a hub of activity. Students from the Department of Air Transport and Traffic, ranging from first-year undergraduates to Master’s level students, joined by peers from Logistics and Road transport departments, explored the diversity of roles within the sector. The interactive setup allowed participants to engage with project videos and detailed Job Cards, complete a digital survey to match their skills with one of the four Engage 2 job categories and take part in an “on-the-spot” ranking activity to visualize which specific roles resonated most with them.
Over 30 students completed the survey, with many others contributing to the visual ranking board. The results showed a spread of interests across the four pillars of the project:
Operational: high interest was noted in traditional and emerging roles like Air Traffic Controller and Remote Tower Operator.
Human-Centered: roles such as UX Researcher and HMI Designer saw significant engagement.
Regulatory & Planning: students showed a keen interest in Airspace Management & Design.
Technical & Innovative: the field remains a strong draw for those looking toward the digital future of aviation.
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Sky Roles: learning through play
The activity continued on 23 April with the interactive workshop “Sky Roles: The Guessing Challenge” More than 20 students participated in this fast-paced quiz, using clues to identify various ATM roles mapped by the project. The session was defined by a fun and competitive atmosphere, proving that gamified learning is an effective tool for demystifying complex career paths.
The two events not only met their objectives of collecting structured insights for project reporting but also succeeded in their core mission: encouraging students to reflect on their potential future in the ATM world.
A huge thank you to the University of Belgrade and all the students who brought such energy and insight to our stand.
Time to plan a trip to Trieste! The third edition of the Engage 2 Summer School will take place from 14 to 18 September 2026.
The event will be hosted at the Scuola Interpreti (SSLMIT), located in the heart of Trieste. Prospective attendees are encouraged to register by 26 June 2026. Please note that while Engage 2 PhD students are guaranteed a place, other applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
The registration will close Friday 26 June 2026 at midnight.
The Summer School is designed for early-career researchers, PhD students and young professionals. This year’s programme will explore current and emerging topics in ATM, providing participants with a unique opportunity to learn from leading experts and network with peers from across Europe.
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A limited number of rooms at a discounted rate are available at Opera Figli del Popolo (Largo Papa Giovanni XXIII)
Getting there: the accommodation is a 20-minute walk from the venue in Via Filzi, or easily reachable by local bus
As the aviation industry undergoes a period of unprecedented transformation, from the integration of U-space to the push for total decarbonisation, the need for fresh perspectives has never been greater. For many years, Engage 2 has collaborated closely with CANSO to bridge the gap between today’s industry leaders and the next generation of talent.
Tomorrow’s Voices is more than just a visit to a trade show; it is a gateway to a career in aviation. Registrations are now officially open. If you are a student or a young professional eager to define the future of our skies, we want to hear from you.
We are delighted to invite students and young professionals (aged 20–30) to join us in Lisbon from 26–28 May 2026 for a unique immersive experience.
A cornerstone of the Engage 2 contribution, the Inspirational Tours, will return this year in a reimagined format. Moving beyond traditional exhibition walks, the 2026 tours are designed to be more interactive and thematic. Participants will not only observe cutting-edge technologies but will engage in direct dialogue with the experts and visionaries behind them, exploring how research is being translated into real-world operational solutions.
Stay tuned to the Engage 2 website and our social media channels for further updates on the full programme and speaker line-up.
The European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) has officially announced the cancellation of EBACE 2026, originally scheduled to take place in Geneva from 2-4 June.
The decision follows a thorough review by the EBAA Board of Governors. Despite efforts to revitalise the event with a reimagined format, including a new static display at Geneva Airport and enhanced networking opportunities, the association concluded that the current market dynamics and participation models did not provide the necessary momentum to deliver a viable edition of the show.
EBAA CEO Stefan Benz described the move as a “difficult but responsible” decision, aimed at minimising the impact on exhibitors and partners who had already committed to the event. Rather than proceeding with a format that no longer fully met the evolving needs of the industry, the EBAA will now redirect its resources and efforts towards its primary mission: advocacy, sustainability, and direct support for the European business aviation community.
While the 2026 exhibition will not go ahead, the EBAA has reaffirmed its commitment to representing the sector’s interests at a European level. The association will continue to focus on promoting responsible and sustainable growth within the industry, advocating for proportionate regulation and better airport access adn creating new, more agile platforms for members to connect and collaborate.
Juergen Wiese, Chairman of the EBAA, noted that while EBACE has historically been a vital platform, the association must now shape new approaches that respond to what the market genuinely values in a changing global landscape.
For further details and the full official statement, please visit the EBAA website.
The Engage 2 project recently delivered a workshop held on 24–25 February 2026 at the Sofitel Athens Airport, Greece. Co-organized with FASTNet, JARVIS and Athens International Airport (AIA) – which hosted the event as part of its 25th anniversary celebrations – the workshop gathered a diverse ecosystem of 80 registered participants from an initial pool of 120 applicants.
The high turnout reflected a rich variety of perspectives, bringing together airportoperators, aviation industrytech providers, researchers, European institutions and innovation consultancies to discuss the “Digital European Sky” vision.
Deep dive into the Passenger-Centric Digital Airport
The first day focused on Thematic Challenge #2: Passenger-centric digital airport. Discussions centered on the evolution toward data-centric operations, analyzing passenger dynamics within terminals and the implementation of virtual queuing systems.
Through structured round-table discussions, participants addressed three critical clusters. Drawing from the workshop’s synthesis.
Shift toward passenger-centricity
The conversation centered on a fundamental shift from operator-driven processes to a model that prioritizes the passenger at every step. Currently, the journey is often marred by fragmentation and a lack of integrated visibility across different transport modes. Participants noted that travelers face significant stress due to unreliable delay predictions and the anxiety of tight transfers.
To counter this, the vision of a travel companion app gained strong support: a digital tool capable of monitoring the entire multimodal itinerary and offering real-time rebooking. The goal is to provide a seamless experience defined by reliability and simplicity, ideally through a single ticket and one accountable system.
Empowering the operator in a multimodal world
As the system grows more complex, the experience of the operator is also evolving. The workshop highlighted that improving this experience is not just about deploying AI, but about a holistic socio-technical transformation. Operators today face the challenge of coordinating across disparate modes (air, rail and maritime) often hindered by siloed data and limited trust between stakeholders.Experts agreed that higher levels of automation do not actually reduce the need for expertise; instead, they increase the demand for high-level decision-making and data literacy. For AI to be a true enabler, systems must offer transparency, clear confidence indicators and robust fallback procedures to build calibrated trust over time.
Data governance and the environmental horizon
Bridging these two experiences is the critical role of data, which serves as both a primary enabler and a significant constraint. While data sharing is crucial for managing disruptions and optimizing capacity, it is currently slowed by legal hurdles like GDPR, cybersecurity risks and unclear liability frameworks.
Beyond the digital infrastructure, the Environmental Impact cluster reminded participants that the future airport must balance commercial interests with sustainability. This requires moving from transactional relationships topartnership models that can support long-term resilience and a Digital European Sky that respects both the passenger and the planet.
Airport site visit and practical validations
Day 2 provided participants with a practical, hands-on experience focused on emerging solutions. This included a demonstration of the FASTNet project, where its operational concepts and validated results were showcased.
The event ended with an exclusive visit to Athens International Airport, providing a real-world backdrop to the discussions on multimodal integration and celebrating the airport’s 25 years of operational excellence.
As the SESAR 3 Knowledge Transfer Network, Engage 2 remains committed to driving excellence in ATM research. We are pleased to outline our strategic calendar for 2026, featuring a series of high-level events designed to facilitate knowledge exchange, support the next generation of aviation professionals, and foster technical innovation across Europe.
Advancing transport research: TRA2026
The spring season will commence in Lisbon at the Transport Research Arena (TRA2026), taking place from 18 to 21 April 2026. As a cornerstone of European transport dialogue, TRA2026 provides an essential platform for Engage 2 to contribute to discussions on the digitalisation and decarbonisation of the aviation sector. We invite stakeholders to join us in exploring how our network’s research outputs are shaping the future of European mobility.
Local engagement: Belgrade Open Day
On 22 and 23 April 2026, Engage 2 will host an Open Day in Belgrade. This event is specifically designed to bridge the gap between education and industry, offering high school and university students a unique window into the future of aviation and ATM professions. Through interactive sessions and expert guidance, we aim to showcase the evolving career paths that will define the sector in the decades to come. Specific venue details and the full agenda will be published shortly.
Empowering the next generation at Airspace World 2026
From 26 to 28 May 2026, our focus shifts to Lisbon for Airspace World. We are happy to confirm the return of Tomorrow’s Voices, the programme dedicated to young professionals and students. Central to this initiative will be a new series of Inspirational Tours, offering participants curated access to industry pioneers and cutting-edge technologies. This programme remains a vital link between academic study and professional career paths in ATM.
Collaborative innovation: Hackathon #2 in Zagreb
In the final quarter of the year, Engage 2 will lead a technical Hackathon in Zagreb on 20 and 21 October 2026. This is a joint event organised in collaboration with the DIALOG and AWARE projects. By pooling expertise across different SESAR initiatives, the hackathon aims to solve complex operational problems through rapid prototyping and collaborative coding. It represents a unique opportunity for data scientists and ATM experts to work at the intersection of various research domains.
The highlights video and other materials of the Dissemination Event held in Bled, Slovenia, are now available. The gathering brought together experts from five SESAR projects – ASTRA, SynthAir, CODA, TRUSTY and Engage 2 – to discuss the integration of Artificial Intelligence within the ATM ecosystem.
The event focused on moving beyond the conceptual stage of AI to address concrete challenges such as system modernization, climate impact, and the evolving role of human operators. Key takeaways from the participating projects included:
Human-centric AI (CODA). Developing neuro-adaptive teaming where the system dynamically adjusts support based on the controller’s state.
The Trust Paradox (TRUSTY). Analyzing how technical explainability affects user trust, noting that excessive information can sometimes lead to cognitive overload.
Predictive Complexity (ASTRA). Using machine learning to identify traffic “hotspots” and support Flow Management Positions (FMP) with data-driven complexity scores.
Synthetic Data (SynthAir). Generating robust datasets to overcome privacy and scarcity issues in AI training.
Future outlook
Discussions during the event highlighted that the next decade of ATM will be shaped by the need for new ethical and regulatory frameworks. The transition of theATCOs from a tactical executor to a strategic manager remains a central theme, requiring evolved training and certification processes for AI systems that learn post-deployment.
As noted by Micol Biscotto (Engage 2 Coordinator), organizing joint events is a fundamental step for projects to share results and collaborate on common challenges, ensuring that research aligns with the operational realities of European aviation. The official presentations and technical slides from the event are also available for further review on the project websites.
The Engage 2 consortium made a significant impact at the 2025 SESAR Innovation Days (SIDs), held from 1-4 December in Lake Bled, Slovenia. As the flagship event for Europe’s ATM research community, this year’s conference highlighted collaboration as the “secret sauce” behind ATM transformation, a theme that resonates deeply with Engage 2’s mission to bridge the gap between academia and the aviation industry.
Championing young talents
Since 2023, Engage 2 has been dedicated to cultivating young talent in the ATM domain and this commitment was on full display in Bled. The project supported the attendance of three of its seven funded PhD candidates, along with an MSc student who has successfully navigated the sector with the guidance of Engage 2 mentors.
Their presence demonstrated to the wider SESAR community the consortium’s proactive approach to creating opportunities for early-career researchers. By facilitating these connections, Engage 2 continues to foster links between the next generation of innovators and the established aviation industry.
Leadership in technical sessions and expanding the knowledge hub
Beyond supporting students, Engage 2 partners played a central role in the event’s technical programme. Many partners served as moderators for various technical sessions throughout the convention, underscoring the high profile and expertise of the network’s researchers within the European ATM landscape.
During the plenary session, the Engage 2 Coordinator took the stage to highlight the project’s tangible achievements. Key milestones presented included the seven funded PhDs and the series of successful joint events organised across different projects, as well as the continuous popularity of the Wiki, the platform that will host the technical papers from this year’s SIDs edition, alongside archives from previous years. This initiative reinforces the Wiki’s status as a central repository for ATM knowledge, ensuring that the research shared at Lake Bled remains accessible to the community.
Advancing AI in ATM: joint dissemination event
Following the main conference, Slovenian week ended on December 5th with a joint final dissemination event titled “AI-based innovation in ATM: enhancing efficiency, trust and safety.”This event focused on the final results and achievements of four SESAR-supported exploratory research projects (TRUSTY, ASTRA, SynthAIr and CODA-ATC). Bringing together a total of 63 participants (21 onsite and 42 joining online), the session provided a platform to showcase innovations aimed at improving the European ATM network. Attendees engaged directly with project teams to learn about tested AI-based solutions, specifically in enhancing air traffic control efficiency; building operator trust in autonomous and AI-driven systems; ensuring the highest standards of safety in a digitalised airspace.
About SESAR Innovation Days
Hosted by Pipistrel and the University of Ljubljana, the 2025 SESAR Innovation Days brought together 450 leading researchers, industry stakeholders, and policymakers to discuss the future of the Digital European Sky. For more information on the event and its outcomes, visit the SESAR Joint Undertaking news page.
