Your Training Innovation Deserves an Audience: WATS 2026 Wants to Hear From You

If you've implemented something genuinely interesting in aviation training over the past year, there's a good chance other people need to hear about it. WATS 2026 is now accepting speaker proposals, and the submission deadline is Monday 1st December.

This year's theme, Smarter Training for a Safer Future: AI, Immersion, and Competency in Aviation Learning, reflects where the industry is actually heading, not where we wish it would go. The conference organisers want forward-looking insights and practical case studies that demonstrate measurable improvements in safety, efficiency, and human performance.

Four conference streams are open for submissions: Pilot Training, Ab Initio Pilot Training, Cabin Crew Training, and Maintenance Technician Training. Within those streams, the scope is deliberately broad. You might be working on advanced simulation and data-driven assessment in pilot training, tackling unruly passenger scenarios through immersive cabin crew training, or using digital twins and AI-based diagnostics in maintenance technician education.

We, the organisers, are also keen to hear about cross-cutting themes that affect all training disciplines: human factors and personnel readiness, instructor standardisation, crew selection and retention, or how training needs to adapt for different generations entering the workforce.

What WATS isn't looking for are thinly veiled product pitches.

"Our highly knowledgeable audience expects presentations that are not overt product or company sales pitches," Conference Chair Jacques Drappier notes. "Commercial opportunities exist elsewhere at the conference.

"What we want are real-world training insights, particularly from air carriers and training organisations that have actually implemented these approaches and can speak to what worked and what didn't."

The submission process is straightforward but thorough. You'll need a 250-300 word abstract, a recorded video of either yourself presenting the abstract or from a previous conference presentation, a short biography, and a photo. Presentations run 15-18 minutes, followed by Q&A.

Academic research is welcome, but full academic papers aren't the right fit. WATS is an applied conference, so if you've conducted relevant aviation training research, you'll need to distil it into practical insights that training professionals can actually use.

Successful speakers will be notified on or before 9th January 2026, giving you time to prepare properly. The organisers acknowledge they can't accept every proposal, but they're committed to reviewing each submission carefully.

Aviation training is changing faster than it has in decades. AI is moving from experimental to operational, immersive technologies are proving their value beyond the novelty factor, and competency-based approaches are reshaping how we think about assessment. If you're part of that change, WATS needs to hear from you.

Submit your proposal at www.wats-event.com before Monday 1st December.