Aviation Tech Company Aerosim Collaborates with Boeing Company to Tap into the Aviation Training Market Worth Up to A Trillion USD Becomes First in Asia to be Authorized for the Usage of Foreflight for Training Purposes and Entitling Students to be Promoted to Aviation Related Courses of Australia Universities

(Hong Kong, 3 March 2023) – Aerosim, the graduate startup of Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) Incubation Programme in 2022 and a current member of its Acceleration Programme, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Boeing Company, the world’s largest aerospace firm. In the future, both companies will work together to build a better ecosystem for the aviation industry in Asia by nurturing more high-quality aviation talents. Both companies attach great importance to this co-operation and look forward to grasping the huge business opportunities brought by the vision of the “14th 5-Year Plan” to build Hong Kong into a leading international aviation hub. Aerosim hopes to take this opportunity to expand to the Asia aviation training market. 

The MOU includes two major focus areas; first, Aerosim will be able to use Boeing’s Aviation Ground Theory (AGT) for teaching, and students who have completed the relevant preparatory courses are entitled to enter various aviation academies or master degree courses provided by several universities in Australia. The second focus of the agreement provisions for Aerosim and its training machines to use the real-time aerial map application “ForeFlight” for training purposes. This is the first time the application has been authorized in Asia for usage for training purposes, which will significantly enhance the authenticity and practicality of its flight simulation training.

During the signing ceremony, Mattis Tsang, Managing Director of Aerosim, said, “Following the easing of travel restrictions and the country’s ‘14th 5-Year Plan’ to build Hong Kong into an international aviation hub, it is estimated that Hong Kong’s aviation industry will require between one to two hundred thousand of talented professionals. For the Asia-Pacific region, demand on aviation industry talents is expected to be around one million; and so the aviation training market in the next ten years could be worth a trillion US Dollars. Aerosim is honored to partner with Boeing, a leader in  the aerospace industry, to seize this opportunity together. Since its inception, Aerosim has been committed to promoting professional aviation knowledge. By bringing aviation training into campuses and providing suitable training and pathways of further education for those interested in joining the industry, Aerosim strives to provide high-quality talent to the aviation sector. We expect to help recruit more than 500,000 aviation members into the local aviation industry in the coming ten years. Collaborations such as this with Boeing will greatly improve the quality and the recognition of our training courses, building a better ecosystem for the aviation professional, as well as boosting Hong Kong on the way to achieving its target of developing into an international aviation hub.”

Boeing Company allows Aerosim to access Aviation Ground Theory and ForeFlight to raise the quality and recognition of its training courses

Aerosim and Boeing Company formed a partnership in training in 2021. Aerosim has been using the Private Pilot License (PPL) theory for its elementary training, helping students manage their learning progress. AGT, the FAA flight theory, added in the latest collaboration agreement, will greatly improve students' convenience and cost efficiency in education, and the courses will also enjoy greater recognition. Moreover, after a long period of negotiation, Aerosim has also established a promotion mechanism with several universities in Australia, entitling students who have completed the relevant preparatory courses to be promoted to various aviation academies or master degree courses.

ForeFlight is the integrated flight app with all of the essentials for VFR (Visual Flight Rules) & IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) route planning, flight plan filing and flying. It is the most widely-used application by individual pilots and professional flight crews to access weather and airport information, plan flights with optimized routing, and file flight plans via EUROCONTROL. It also lets pilots and crews access and manage electronic charts and maps, reference flight manuals and documents, avoid terrain and obstacles with powerful hazard awareness tools, access in-flight traffic (and weather, where supported), and aid e-route navigation. ForeFlight is trusted by professional pilots, as well as many organizations and corporates including airlines. Becoming the first in Asia to apply ForeFlight into aviation training, Aerosim will provide students with more realistic flight simulation experiences, enhancing their aviation knowledge and resilience.

Aerosim is committed to building an aviation industry ecosystem to realize the dream of flying for more people

As aviation knowledge is relatively demanding and has a high threshold for aviation training equipment requirements, ordinary youngsters seldom have a chance to access it, and this results in a severe shortage of talent in the aviation industry. As a current member of HKSTP’s Acceleration 

Programme, Aerosim offers a one-stop aviation education platform, creating an eco-system to enhance long-term development. To achieve this target, Aerosim believes the most important thing is to keep the industry “down-to-earth”, allowing youngsters to learn about professional aviation specifics and overall knowledge, while at the same time arousing their interest in the industry.

Mr Oscar Wong, Head of Business Development of HKSTP, said, "Partner companies’ success is our success. HKSTP has always been committed to nurturing high-potential technology startups in helping them commercialize their research outcome and to go global. The young founders of Aerosim, who are passionate about aviation and who happened to be well-equipped with engineering and technical knowledge, understand that success follows a research and development process. It is through them that our youngsters were given the opportunity to be more acquainted with aeronautic and aviation knowhow. This extended cooperation between Aerosim and the internationally renowned Boeing company is a testament to the unlimited potential of Hong Kong startups and their capabilities to shine on the international stage.” 

Aerosim is currently collaborating with more than 150 universities, secondary schools and primary schools in different short, medium and long-term formats, including setting up flight simulators in campuses for students to experience, and to tailoring extracurricular activities for schools that conform to the STEAM teaching concept. Among them, the Mu Kuang English School even bought hardware from Aerosim to set up an aviation-themed classroom, and designed aviation and astronomy courses taking reference from Aerosim’s teaching materials and course requirements, allowing students of different levels to participate. 

Furthermore, Aerosim has been collaborating with the Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) to provide professional Aerospace programmes and design training materials in the past five years, aiming to promote Aerospace technology and offer requisite training and career pathway to enter the industry. Ms. Karen Fung, General Manager of InnoPreneur and FutureSkills of HKPC, said, “HKPC has spared no effort in promoting technology education (TechEd) and nurturing talents. Over the years, we have been working closely with Aerosim to organise a wide range of STEAM and Aerospace programmes recognised by the Reindustralisation and Technology Training Programme (RTTP) and Qualifications Framework (QF), so as to arouse the interest and knowledge of youngsters in Aerospace technology. In the future, we will continue to popularise TechEd by setting up an ‘Aerospace Experience Zone’ in the HKPC Building. By offering advanced flight simulation experience and Boeing’s Aviation Ground Theory (AGT), it will provide qualified professional training for those who plan to join the aviation industry as well as professional pilots, and thus grooming more I&T talents to support the industry in the long run.”

The signing of the agreement with Boeing Company is the beginning of Aerosim’s blueprint for future development. Aerosim and its partners are preparing a series of expansion plans to develop the local and Greater Bay Area market, and setting sights on the professional aviation training markets across the whole mainland, as well as Malaysia and Australia.