Our vision for the future of Aerospace Engineering

We are in a space revolution.

Technology is ushering in the era of autonomous systems, and digital engineering advances are increasingly transforming aircraft and spacecraft manufacturing systems. Space is on the verge of transitioning from a government-driven, research-oriented sector to a commercially-oriented industry with a mixture of government, private, public and start-up participants, and the world needs sustainable aviation solutions to meet critical emissions concerns.

The aerospace field looks to higher education to feed the pipeline of the next generation of leaders. We need to anticipate major industry shifts such as those we’ve been experiencing—from product design to enabling technologies—while still delivering a solid education in engineering fundamentals.

As a function of this landscape, the University of Michigan Aerospace Department has spent the last year assessing the marketplace, identifying megatrends in the next decade, and developing a vision for the research and academic needs in aerospace engineering higher education. We’d like to share that with you.

As higher education innovates to meet the demands of the aerospace field, we plan to be at the forefront of innovation, partnering with you to make that happen. Please see this strategic planning guide as a blueprint for the trends in our industry and how we can address these needs and opportunities together.

This is our direction.