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Airbus upskills employees to reach new heights with Udacity.

Case Study
man working on airplane propeller
Airbus logo
Industry

Aviation

How Udacity helped Airbus to
  • Create an in-house team of data and AI/ML experts
  • Increase productivity and foster a culture of data-driven decision making
  • Introduce new products and services to their customers and partners
  • Generate 237% ROI on global talent transformation investment

Airbus partnered with Udacity to create a Digital Academy and upskill more than 1,000 employees in data analytics, AI, and machine learning to support their Skywise initiative.

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.
Aniss Gaaya
Head of the Digital Academy, Airbus
Challenge

Airbus is a worldwide leader in the design, manufacture, and delivery of aerospace products and services to customers on a global scale. In 2017, the company launched Skywise, a first-of-its-kind open data platform that combines in-flight, engineering, and operational data in an analytic-rich environment that enables airlines to break down data silos, improve their operational performance, and drive business results.

To support this initiative and empower its own employees to become more data-driven, Airbus made the strategic decision to create a world-class Digital Academy to upskill its workforce in the latest digital technologies. By focusing on critical skills like data analytics, AI, and machine learning, Airbus hoped to create and retain an in-house team of experts—not just data scientists and deep technical experts, but also business “translators” who could combine their new data savvy with industry and functional expertise to drive impact.

Solution

To create their Digital Academy, Airbus partnered with Udacity, a leading provider of hands-on technical upskilling programs. Working closely with Udacity's talent transformation consultants, Airbus created a five-step framework to help employees across the organization master data analytics, AI, and machine learning skills, which included:

1. An online community platform
Digital community where learners can collaborate on business challenges, share code, and learn best practices from their peers.

2. The Udacity Data Analyst Nanodegree program
Learners use Python, SQL, and statistics to uncover insights, communicate critical findings, and create data-driven solutions.

3. Coaching and drop-in sessions
Sessions that enable learners to get personalized, in-depth attention from the community of data scientists who both support and troubleshoot their projects.

4. Virtual events
Expert speakers within the Airbus Group give presentations designed to broaden each learner’s view of data skills and associated topics of interest.

5. Proofs of concept/sprint participation
Activities designed to cement learners’ knowledge and apply it to Airbus use cases, thus demonstrating the direct business impact of their newly acquired skills.

Outcome

Through Udacity’s customized programs in data science and AI/machine learning, Airbus employees learned how to use Python, SQL, and statistics to uncover insights, communicate critical findings, and create data-driven solutions. To date, more than 1,000 Airbus employees across six divisions have graduated from these programs.

The bottom-line impact of Udacity’s talent transformation initiatives at Airbus has been nothing short of amazing. Airbus has seen 237% ROI on its initial investment as well as significant improvements in employee hiring, productivity, and retention. Udacity’s project-based approach equipped employees with job-ready skills that could be applied in real scenarios and business solutions.

Upskilled employees also became key contributors to Skywise, Airbus' open data platform. Previously, aviation data was locked in disparate systems governing maintenance, flight management, aircraft monitoring and safety, and other critical workflows. Skywise changes the game by integrating these disparate data sources into a single platform, enabling data gathering and simplification, transparency, information comparison, data analysis, and easy sharing for customers.

Another important aspect of the program was that it gave real job mobility to Airbus employees, allowing them to move from existing technical positions into data analyst roles all across the organization. These new roles were both highly valuable and strategic to the company and enabled upskilled employees to put their new data analysis and data-driven decision-making skills into practice to solve big-picture problems, build better products, and suggest new services for customers and partners.

At Udacity, we take a project-based approach to learning, which provides learners with job-ready skills that can be applied in real business solutions. We’re delighted to have supported Airbus in the implementation of its Digital Academy and excited to strengthen our partnership as the company continues on its digital transformation journey.
Samuel Schofield
Chief Revenue Officer at Udacity