Sparking Ideas That Fly: Our GKN Aerospace Design Sprint 2025

During the Easter break, we wrapped up another brilliant design sprint — this time as part of GKN Aerospace’s Work Experience Week 2025, delivered in collaboration with the fantastic teams at GKN and Creative Tuition Collective.

Over three packed days, we worked with 8 teams of bright, curious teenagers who took on a set of real-world engineering and innovation challenges — and they absolutely delivered. This wasn’t about theory or textbook answers. This was applied creativity: using a modified double diamond design process to research, reframe, develop and pitch bold ideas to some of the most exciting challenges in sustainable aerospace.

Here’s what they tackled:

• High Rate Manufacturing with AI: Designing AI-driven frameworks to reduce waste, speed up production and improve sustainability on the factory floor.

• Hydrogen-Electric Aircraft Terminal Design: Reimagining airport infrastructure for the next generation of zero-emission aircraft.

• Hydrogen Aircraft Public Perception Campaign: Challenging public misconceptions around hydrogen-powered planes with creative comms and confidence.

• Lifecycle Sustainability Assessment: Making CO₂ data relatable through visual storytelling and everyday comparisons — a powerful education tool.

• Tool Manufacturing for Space Exploration: Inventing multi-functional, 3D-printed tools for astronauts heading to Mars.

What made this sprint special was not just the quality of the ideas — which were outstanding — but the way the students worked: focused, supportive, brave, and imaginative. Their final presentations were thoughtful, clear and often funny too.

We also trialled something new this year. Abbie, one of our facilitators (and a past participant herself!), delivered a short but powerful talk on the ethics and socio-economic aspects of innovation. It gave the students an extra lens through which to explore their challenge during the research phase — and the discussions that followed were some of the richest we’ve seen. Thanks to Abbie for bringing that new but important angle to our programme.

Huge thanks must go to the whole team at GKN for setting the challenges and supporting the students throughout. And to the Creative Tuition team — it's always a joy working with you.

Here’s to more sprints, more ideas, and more space for young people to surprise us.

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