Aerospace for Good — Ōtautahi Futures Lab

Where a future career takes off. A ten-week, future-focused programme for Year 11 students in Ōtautahi — built with schools, whānau and local industry.

Duration: 10 weeks
Who: Year 11
Where: Ōtautahi, Christchurch
Next intake: May 2027

So… what actually is this?

This is part of something bigger.

Every Year 11 student gets asked the same question: what do you want to do when you leave school? It's a big question, and most people are expected to answer it with very little to go on.

Aerospace For Good is the first lab in Futures Labs — Ōtautahi Futures Lab's programme for bringing students closer to the futures being built around them. Real people. Real places. Real challenges. Real possibilities.

Students deserve the chance to see more of what is possible before they are asked to choose what comes next.

01 — Futures Labs

Not the obvious futures.

Not

just social media.

Not

just the jobs everyone talks about.

Not

just what feels obvious.

Industries growing right here in Ōtautahi need people with different strengths, ideas and ways of seeing the world. No dream job required. No perfect plan required. No particular mould to fit.

Why aerospace

Aerospace is the lens.

Aerospace connects to more than most people realise. The bigger goal isn't to turn every student into an engineer — it's to explore how future industries can be used for good.

ClimateDisaster responseFarmingData & AIDesignBusinessEthics

The questions we ask

What do we mean by good?

Cool tech is not enough. Every session comes back to what a technology does, who it helps, and what it changes. Good means asking how aerospace could support life on Earth, strengthen communities, and help us all make wiser choices.

Good for who? Good for what?
Good for this place? Good for the planet?
Good now, and good later?
Who gets a say? Who's affected?

03 — The launchpad

Ōtautahi is the launchpad.

Aerospace, entrepreneurship, technology, climate solutions and advanced manufacturing are all growing in Ōtautahi. Real people. Real companies. Labs, hangars, workshops and classrooms — right here, not somewhere else.

Most families and schools have never seen these pathways up close. That doesn't mean they aren't for their students — it usually means no one has opened the door properly yet.

How this whole thing works

Three phases. One challenge. Many possible futures.

One programme, built in three moves — each phase preparing students for the next. Ten weeks, start to finish.

Foundations —
learn to see the system

Phase 01 is about learning how to think about aerospace — not just what aerospace is. Delivered on our online platform, at school or at home.

Explore the aerospace ecosystem, why Ōtautahi matters, and how it all connects to life on Earth.
Pick up the thinking tools used throughout the programme: systems thinking, ethics, futures thinking, sustainability, impact and collective benefit.
Watch short videos, respond to prompts and complete small activities.
Start noticing the questions, issues and possibilities that matter personally.

Immersion —
step inside the ecosystem

Phase 02 takes students into the field, where aerospace becomes less abstract and more human, local, connected and real.

Hear from people working across aerospace and emerging industries.
Explore different roles and pathways, visit places, and ask questions.
Start seeing the industry from different perspectives and world views.
Watch the big picture come together — real people, real places, real work.

Innovation —
create something with purpose

Phase 03 is the team challenge. There is no "right" answer to find — the work is to think carefully and make it matter.

Work with others to respond to a real-world challenge.
Bring together ideas, questions, strengths, systems thinking and ethical decision-making to design something that matters.
Work well with others and consider the impact of what you make.
Explain why the idea could make a difference, and present it to the cohort.

The whole thing, in three lines

First, learn to see the system.Then, step inside it.Then, help shape what comes next.

The practical stuff

What it takes to take part

No experience required — just curiosity. Here's what the programme asks of students, schools and whānau.

Year level: Year 11 (Years 12–13 on request)
Length: 10 weeks, one term
Format: Online platform + in-the-field visits + team challenge
Time commitment: ≈2 hrs per week
Next intake: May 2027
Enrolments close: 2 weeks before term starts
Cost: Fully funded places · Domestic $395 · International $695
Where: Ōtautahi, Christchurch

In the field

Real people. Real places. Real work.

For kaiako

For teachers & schools

Aerospace For Good runs alongside your existing timetable. We bring the platform, the industry network and the facilitation — your school brings the students.

What we bring

The online platform, facilitated sessions, industry hosts and mentors, and the end-of-programme challenge brief.

What schools bring

A cohort of Year 11 students, a staff contact, and timetabled space for the weekly sessions and field visits.

Up to 5 Level 2 credits

Students can earn up to five NCEA Level 2 credits through the programme.

Cohort size & logistics

Around 100 students per cohort; transport and supervision arranged with your school.

You're cleared for launch

Enrol for next term

Students can enrol themselves, and parents, whānau, teachers and schools can enrol on their behalf. No experience required — just curiosity.

Intake — May 2027
Applications close — 2 weeks before term starts
Places per cohort — 100

Enrol for next term →

You're on the list.

Enrolment enquiry

This is part of something bigger.

Not the obvious futures.

Aerospace is the lens.

What do we mean by good?

Ōtautahi is the launchpad.