In early June, AS Braunschweig visited ILA 2024, the German International Aerospace Exhibition in Berlin, marking the biggest event since the onset of COVID.
Our day at ILA began with a visit to the German Aerospace Center (DLR) stand, where we joined student groups from across Germany. We had the privilege of meeting Dr. Anke Kaysser-Pyzalla, the Director of the DLR, and Anna Christmann, the Coordinator of the German Federal Government for Aerospace. Following this meet and greet, we engaged in an open Q&A session, where many interesting questions about the future of German aviation, innovations in carbon neutral aviation and many more topics were addressed.
We had the opportunity to have a personal conversation with Dr. Kaysser-Pyzalla. Afterwards we got to know several heads of various DLR locations across Germany, each specializing in different areas of research and expertise. Together with them we learnt about the different projects the DLR pursues in its various locations across Germany. Our members walked around the various Halls, each dedicated to different topics such as space, defense, and aviation, with the aim of networking and exploring potential internships or future employment opportunities – particularly valuable for those pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering, where an internship is mandatory.
After the structured activities, the rest of the day was spent exploring the ILA exhibition grounds. We visited numerous company booths, got to see a couple of aircraft standing on the runway as well as their crews. Throughout the day, we were also fascinated by a series of impressive airshows displaying flight maneuvers of aircrafts like Eurofighter Typhoon, Airbus A400, PA-200 Tornado and the Tiger. A visit to the EUROAVIA booth was clearly on our schedule.
Our visit concluded in the afternoon as we headed back to Braunschweig, not before capturing a final group photo to commemorate our time at ILA 2024.
We would like to express our gratitude to the DLR and our German local groups for their collaboration and support in purchasing the tickets for the event, making it possible for our 30 attendees – nearly half of our active members – to enjoy free entry. We also want to give a special shoutout to all our members who volunteered to drive us to the ILA. We can’t wait for ILA 2026!
AS Braunschweig