Stijn Ilsen

Speaker
Dutch
English
Photo of Stijn Ilsen

Who is Stijn Ilsen?

I am Stijn Ilsen, aerospace engineer, in my early forties. I give lectures around space and keynotes around "Moonshot Mindset," the mindset needed to realize almost impossible projects anyway. Something that, for space engineer, is our natural attitude. During the lectures, my goal is to explain space exploration, which is seen as something extremely complex, in ordinary everyday language with a dose of anecdotes and humour. Moreover, space travel inspires young and old alike, making it an ideal topic to inspire people of all ages.

I earned a Master of Science in aerospace engineering and went to work for the European Space Agency ESA with a study for a European manned mission to the moon. I then worked for Airbus on the HERSCHEL space telescope across Europe. Currently I am working at Redwire Space in Kruibeke on Belgian and European satellites.

I give over 30 keynotes and lectures every year. For companies, engineering societies, universities, observatories,various socio-cultural organizations, primary and secondry schools. In recent years I appear regularly on Flemish radio and television (Interne keuken, Weet ik veel, De Afspraak, Ter zake, het journaal, Laat, nieuwe feiten, Ketnet). I am the author of a book for young people about rockets, satellites and astronauts, entitled "Reis naar de sterren", published by Lannoo. And a book on the technology of the future titled "Will You Become the First Man on Mars?" .

I also gave 2 TEDx talks in the last couple of years and had a show on Nerdland festival for the passed couple of editions. 

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    Moonshot Mindset: Achieving the Extraordinary"

    Technology is not only changing, the pace of change is accelerating. Technology is expected to evolve further in the next decade than in the past 100 years combined. So there has never been a better time to focus on innovation, to think bigger! Everyone in the world is working toward a 10% improvement. With a Moonshot Mindset, you set a goal of 10x instead of 10%. As a space engineer and manager, working on innovative and inspiring space projects, a moonshot mindset is my natural attitude. I am currently working on 2 moonshot projects with great passion.

    In this keynote, we start from the ultimate moonshot, where John F. Kennedy inspired an entire nation to achieve an almost impossible goal: putting a man on the moon. His vision created a moonshot mentality that made it possible to achieve the extraordinary! With this example, we look at how you can acquire this moonshot mentality in your organization and apply it from small to world-changing projects. A journey filled with inspiring anecdotes, management and design techniques from Tesla, Apple, Google, SpaceX, Kodak. With SpaceX as the example, we explore what techniques are used by the world’s most successful innovators. Moonshot goals give your organization a clear, bold vision, which can also help you win the war for talent and even become a talent magnet.

    An inspiring keynote that gives you the passion to innovate, strengthen your organization and achieve the extraordinary.

    The future of space travel

    Recent headlines: "China lands on the far side of the moon", "SpaceX builds reusable rockets", "Revolutionary satellites being built in Belgium", "Thousands and thousands of Internet satellites to be launched in the coming years", "Asteroid narrowly misses Earth", "European lander on its way to Mars", "Planets discovered around another star", "Collision between 2 satellites in space causes cloud of space debris". Space travel is a "hot topic" in the news and a lot is happening right now. Take Elon Musk, for example, who makes reusable rockets at his company, SpaceX, and would like to take people to Mars. During this lecture, we look at the recent developments in space travel, the opportunities and dangers, as well as the commercial and the scientific aspects. With an abundance of photos, films/animations and a portion of anecdotes and humour, everything is explained in plain language.

    Back to the moon ... and beyond?

    In November 2022, the Artemis-1 mission left for the Moon. This gigantic rocket launched a new era in which humans return to the Moon to stay for long periods of time. This fascinating story will be looked at from all sides and linked to future missions to Mars and possibly even further afield. We answer questions such as: Can we survive on the Moon or Mars? Who will go to the Moon or Mars? How will our new Belgian astronaut participate in these unique missions? Can I book a ticket to space myself? And is there life in the universe beyond Earth?

    Family lecture on space travel

    During this lecture for young and old, from 7 to 99 years old, we look at why space travel is so inspiring. We take a look at all the sorts of satellites that there are. How a rocket works and we look at a launch in detail. We also take a look into the future. When will humans go back to the Moon and shall we ever go to Mars? Is there life in the universe? All very fascinating questions during a lecture full of video clips and photos, with humour and fun stories. There is also time for questions from the audience, of course. An ideal activity for the whole family, for grandad and his granddaughter, for schools and youth associations.

Seeing Stijn Ilsen on the show De Afspraak always makes for pleasant, highly interesting and informative television which viewers and myself enjoy a lot. Stijn has the rare gift of explaining the universe and everything that flies around in a very clear way and with boundless enthusiasm. I would advise everyone to stop for his orbit around Flanders.

Bart Schols

Host De Afspraak on Canvas

I was scared to go to this lecture. I thought I wouldn't understand anything. However, you explain this complex matter in a very pleasant and fun way. This keeps it light-hearted, but no less interesting and fascinating. You have a unique talent for conveying it to the public in such an understandable way.

Momentum Antwerp

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I have never seen my 7-year-old child sit still in a chair for so long.

Parent at a family reading in Tienen Library