Airbus talent reaches new heights with Udacity partnership

Global aerospace pioneer Airbus has created a world-class Digital Academy to empower its employees with data-driven skills, as part of its mission to invest in its people and nurture internal talent amid the industry’s skills shortage. The Digital Academy, created in partnership with digital talent transformation platform, Udacity, has generated a 237% return on investment through productivity gains and cost avoidance so far. 

Working closely with Udacity’s talent transformation team since 2016, Airbus created a comprehensive five-step framework to help employees across the organization master crucial data skills. The framework involved:

1. Learners enrolling on Udacity’s custom Nanodegree programs in Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning, which teach skills in Python, SQL and statistical comprehension.
2. The creation of an online community platform, where learners can communicate and collaborate on business challenges, share code, and learn best practices from peers.
3. Coaching and drop-in sessions, which enable learners to get in-depth and personalized attention with a community of data scientists.
4. Virtual events and regular talks with expert speakers within the Airbus group on topics designed to broaden each learner’s view of data skills.
5. Proof of concepts and sprint participation activities designed to cement the learners’ knowledge and apply skills directly to Airbus use cases. 

After putting more than 1,000 employees across six divisions through Udacity’s Data Analytics and AI/ML courses, Europe’s largest aeronautics company has now reported a vast ROI as its talent delivers on real business outcomes. 

The enhanced data skills acquired from these Nanodegrees will position new graduates as key contributors to Airbus’ first-of-a-kind open data platform, Skywise, which removes company silos and integrates disparate data sources, enabling data to become shareable and transparent.

Commenting on the partnership initiative, Aniss Gaaya, Head of the Digital Academy at Airbus said:

“Our business is fueled by data. We want our Data Analysts to grow within the organization and empower them with the right skills to build better products, propose new services to our customers, partners and employees, and make the right decisions for the company.

“Udacity’s enterprise Data Analyst and AI/Machine Learning Nanodegree programs enable us to upskill our workforce and allow our employees to factor in data-driven insights into their decision-making process.” 

Samuel Schofield, Chief Revenue Officer at Udacity, comments:

“At Udacity, we take a project-based approach to learning, which provides learners with job-ready skills that can be applied in real applications and business solutions. 

“Our goal was to help Airbus quickly and effectively transform employees into in-house Data Analysts, which enabled the company to advance its Skywise initiative. We’re delighted to have supported Airbus in the development and implementation of its Digital Academy, and we’re excited to strengthen our partnership as the company continues on its digital transformation journey.” 

For more information on the Airbus partnership with Udacity, view the full Airbus case study.