From July 10 to 11, the 2025 International Symposium on Smart Aviation was held at the Hangzhou International Campus of Beihang University. It was jointly initiated by Beihang University, the French Civil Aviation University (ENAC), and Civil Aviation University of China (CAUC), and organized by the Smart Aviation Center of Hangzhou International Innovation Institute (H3I) of Beihang University. With the theme of “Exploring Innovation, Intelligence, and Integration in Future Air Transport”, this event brought together more than 200 experts, scholars, and students from 12 countries and regions for two days of in-depth and interdisciplinary exchanges.
Chinese and French officials and experts from the three universities took part in the opening ceremony. They included Olivier CHANSOU, President of ENAC; Nicolas CAZALIS, Vice President of ENAC; Mathy GONON, Dean of Studies and Research at ENAC; Jordan MORISSEAU, Head of the Development Program of Zhongfa Aviation Institute of Beihang University (ZFAI); Mohamed HAMDI, the French Dean of Sino-European Institute of Aviation Engineering; Professor Li Daqing, Executive Vice President of CAUC's Research Institute of Science and Technology Innovation; Professor Kang Rui, Chairman of the Symposium and Chief Scientist of the Smart Aviation Center of H3I; Frédéric GENTY, the French Dean of ZFAI; and Professor Yu Lijun, a special advisor for international affairs at H3I.
At the opening ceremony, Mathy GONON, Li Daqing, and Kang Rui delivered speeches in turn. They agreed that the global civil aviation industry is facing multiple opportunities and challenges in digital transformation, intelligent upgrading, and green and low-carbon development. It is urgent to strengthen interdisciplinary research, international cooperation, and engineering collaboration, thereby injecting fresh momentum into the industry's sustainable development.
Representing the local government, Cheng Can, an official of the Administrative Committee of Future Sci-Tech City, Yuhang District, Hangzhou, and Zhao Aili, a member of the Yuhang District Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), were invited to attend the opening ceremony and to deliver keynote speeches. They expounded on key measures taken by Yuhang District to promote technological innovation, develop future industries, and support the development of high-caliber professionals. These measures have provided a good regional ecosystem and policy support for advancing smart civil aviation.
The organizing committee of this symposium was composed of key young faculty members from the three universities. With topics closely related to the industry's cutting edge and participants from diverse fields, the program demonstrated an international perspective and interdisciplinary features. Participants engaged in lively discussions on hot topics such as AI-assisted decision-making, digital twins, prognostics health management (PHM), hydrogen energy and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), the low-altitude economy, and smart air traffic control, showcasing multidimensional breakthroughs of smart civil aviation in theoretical research, key technological development, and industrial application.
The symposium consisted of 11 keynote speeches with unique insights on key topics such as intelligent civil aviation operation, aviation safety and maintenance, the low-altitude economy, and sustainable development. Speakers were Dou Peng, Director of Operation, Safety and Security Department of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in North Asia; Yang Suili, Chairman of Loongair (Hangzhou) Aviation Maintenance Engineering Co., Ltd.; Lionel MARQUIER, Project Manager of Dassault Systèmes; Professor Christophe HURTER from ENAC; Professor Piero BARALDI from Polytechnic University of Milan; Gao Lijia, Director of CAUC's Research Institute of Four-Type Airports; Benoit RULLEAU, Co-CEO of Kansai Airports Group; Professor Zeng Zhiguo from Paris-Saclay University; Karim RAGUI and Lu Dan, associate professors from H3I; and Hu Yang, an associate researcher from H3I.
The symposium featured eight sub-forums, covering frontier directions such as smart operation, low-altitude safety supervision, green air traffic control procedures, aviation economy and policies, carbon emissions reduction paths in aviation, entire life-cycle management, and the application of emerging aviation technologies. Participants exchanged ideas on cutting-edge exploration and hands-on experience in the development of smart aviation.
The symposium provided a platform for in-depth communication and cooperation among experts, scholars, and young professionals in the global smart aviation industry, further applying and integrating relevant research results in real-life scenarios. With an open academic environment and advantages in regional resources, the pathway to explore smart civil aviation will further broaden through sustained cooperation.
Approved by Dong Zhuoning, Zhang Wei, Xu Ran
Edited by Yuan Xiaohui
