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The sixth Fly Your Ideas competition has kicked off, and invites the next generation of innovators to propose and develop original ideas for the aerospace industry. The biennal competition is a celebration of creativity and innovation to solve real industry challenges. Open to university teams from across the world, including all disciplines from engineering and information technology to marketing and design, the competition is an opportunity for students to unleash their pioneering spirit, working at the cutting edge of digital technology alongside industry experts. Sharing Airbus’ ambition to inspire young people about sustainable innovation and engineering, UNESCO granted patronage to Fly Your Ideas in 2012.
"Fly Your Ideas is an inspirational endeavour for students around the world and UNESCO is proud to be a part of this initiative” said Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO. “The new challenges will allow students to think outside the box and come up with sustainable solutions for global problems beyond aerospace - exactly what the world needs from our future generations!"
The Airbus and UNESCO partnership aims to provide a unique opportunity for students worldwide, working in diverse teams, to develop valuable employability skills, including teamwork, project management, communications and presentation skills. Fly Your Ideas is seeking ideas that could change aerospace in the decades to come and create a safer, cleaner and better-connected world.
Teams entering Fly Your Ideas go through three competition rounds, with progression to each round presenting an opportunity to further develop their concepts with support from Airbus specialists and mentors. As well as joining Airbus on site to further develop their ideas, up to six finalist teams will compete to share a prize fund of € 45,000 and the chance to take their idea forward within the industry.
Marc Fontaine, Digital Transformation Officer for Airbus and sponsor of Fly Your Ideas, said: “This competition enables us to connect with digital native innovators, and apply their energy and enthusiasm to the tremendous possibilities that we are tackling through our own digital transformation. Our industry is entering an era of profound change and huge potential, and I am excited to see how teams will rise to the challenge.”
The 2019 competition asks teams to respond to one of the following challenges:
- Electrification - How can we fly further, longer and cleaner by developing embedded electrical energy systems?
- Data services - What innovative applications and services can you create based on Airbus data?
- Cyber security- How can we securely and seamlessly authenticate travelers while minimising the impact on passengers, airport security and airlines?
- Internet of things - How can the power of IoT revolutionise the passenger experience or improve collaboration in the aerospace industry?
- Artificial intelligence - In the future of aerospace or industrial manufacturing, how can we use AI to identify opportunities or entirely new business models?
- Mixed reality - How can the aerospace industry put Apple and Google’s mass market Mixed Reality apps to work?
Registrations are open and students can already get to work on their creative and digitally-led responses and apply at www.airbus-fyi.com. The live final of Fly Your Ideas will be held in 2019, where students will have the opportunity to showcase their ideas to an audience of industry experts.