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Airbus Fly Your Ideas challenge attracts over 300 teams worldwide

(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2011-02-28 17:34

More than 2,600 students have registered for the second Airbus Fly Your Ideas (FYI) university contest which challenges students from all around the world to develop new ideas for a greener aviation industry that can shape the future of aviation and deliver a further reduction in the industry's impact on the environment.

The contest has received a warm response from Chinese students. According to the Airbus, the FYI university contest attracted 138 Chinese students who are from Tsinghua University, Beihang University, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, etc. In total, 33 of them have been selected to advance to the 2nd round. The number of participating students and the number of students through to the 2nd round means China ranks second in the world.

More than 2,.600 students from 75 different countries have participated in the 2nd Airbus FYI university contest. Of these 315 teams representing 287 universities, 84 teams have been selected to advance to round 2. Each of them will be supported by a mentor from Airbus so as to develop their initial ideas into more detailed submissions and they will have a chance to participate in the final at the International Paris Airshow-Le Bourget in France.

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One in five participants in FYI 2011 come from a non-technical discipline such as marketing, business, management or design, twice as many as in 2009. Four out of five have a science and / or engineering background. All continents are represented but 44 percent of the teams are based in Europe and 39 percent in the Asia Pacific region.

Charles Champion, Airbus' Executive Vice President Engineering and FYI Patron, said "We are delighted to have received a record number of entries to the second Airbus FYI challenge and we are particularly happy to see a wide diversity of participants. By engaging with universities and young people worldwide we can continue to stimulate more new ideas for a greener aviation industry. This is part of our vision for the eco-efficient aviation industry of the future, balancing the growing demand for air travel with a better environment for all."

The first Airbus Fly Your Ideas (FYI) university contest was launched in 2008, and it is a biennial contest. This time, the FYI 2010-2011 has a theme of ‘Environmental Life Cycle'. Airbus encourages students all around the world to offer their fresh ideas about the Environmental Life Cycle, an approach Airbus adopted to improve its environmental performance and its production process in five areas: design, supply chain, manufacturing, aircraft operations and aircraft end-of-life.

The contest involves three rounds that become progressively more challenging. The five teams with the most successful projects will be chosen in May and will advance to the FYI final. The winning team will be picked by a high-profile panel of judges and will be granted 30,000 Euros for the first prize. The runners-up will receive 15,000.