Deadline: August 31, 2016

Application is now invited for the 2017 Airbus Fly Your Ideas competition. Airbus Fly Your Ideas is a worldwide competition challenging students from all disciplines to develop new ideas and innovate with Airbus for the future of aviation. This is a unique opportunity for students, from every background and discipline, to apply their classroom learning to genuine commercial aviation challenges.

Airbus Fly Your Ideas is organised in partnership with UNESCO, and challenges students to innovate for the future of sustainable aviation. At Airbus, they’re constantly looking for new, better ways to fly and that’s what Fly Your Ideas is all about.

The Challenge

Genuine industry challenges, linked to the commercial aircraft industry identified by Airbus, provide real and concrete aviation problems for students to solve. Students are asked to submit solutions to genuine industry challenges that are either innovations for ‘Now’ or innovations for the ‘Future’; guaranteeing a cross section of ideas that are both applicable today and deliver blue sky thinking for tomorrow.

The key challenges submitted to students are:

1. Business models: What else could be done with aircraft other than transportation?
2. Flight operations: How can big data be used to improve efficiency of flight operations?
3. Passenger experience: How can new processes or layouts ease passenger boarding and disembarking, whilst increasing capacity for luggage?
4. Design engineering: How can artificial intelligence support aircraft design and/or manufacturing?
5. Manufacturing: How can manufacturing be optimised to reduce waste and ensure the sustainability of resources?

Prizes and Benefits

The winning team will share the top prize of €30,000 and the runners up will share €15,000.

Students involved in the competition will have the opportunity to join online communities to exchange with Airbus experts and mentors, academics and students worldwide, mirroring the online digital environment of the education sector today.

Eligibility

The competition is open to teams of 3 to 5 students from around the world, currently studying for a Bachelors, Masters, MBA or PhD degree in any academic discipline. There are 3 progressively challenging rounds, followed by a final, when the 5 finalist teams present their ideas to a revered jury panel of Airbus and industry experts.

Application

Students from around the world are now invited to register for the competition, and start to form their teams!

• To apply for Airbus Fly Your Ideas 2017, please go to the registration page to complete your profile and be eligible for Round 1.
• Students must register as a team of three to five members. They are encouraged to include team members from diverse nationalities, backgrounds and disciplines – from engineering to marketing and from science to design. Teams must be supported by an academic mentor from one of the students’ institutions.
• Projects are assessed by Airbus experts and all teams get feedback as early as Round 1. The 50 teams selected for Round 2 get significant input and guidance from Airbus mentors to develop their idea into a detailed project.
• Five teams are selected for Round 3 where students are asked to test, prototype or visualise their solutions.
• Finally the teams present their projects to an expert jury at the final event in May 2017, where the winning team wins a prize of €30,000 and the runners up €15,000.

For ore information, visit Airbus Fly Your Ideas.