NUS ME students join Airbus Airnovation Summer Academy with focus on tackling global challenges

Photo: (Courtesy of Airbus) (from left) NUS Mechanical Engineering undergraduates Ashwin Kumaar Raviraj and Yogesh Parthasarathy at the Airbus Airnovation Summer Academy

Two NUS Mechanical Engineering undergraduates, Ashwin Kumaar Raviraj and Yogesh Parthasarathy, were selected to be among some 50 top students from 20 countries, representing 24 Airbus partner universities which joined the second Airbus Airnovation Summer Academy from 1st to 6th July 2018 at Cranfield University, UK. The Academy brings together students from multidisciplinary backgrounds for an intense one week programme based on the principles and methods of a business accelerator.

Just as Airbus forms diverse, multidisciplinary teams to innovate and create value for customers and society overall, the Academy saw diverse student teams develop business proposals with speed and agility. This year their ideas were a response to the 2018 challenge to produce game-changing concepts linked to the global need for food and water security, which features highly in a recent survey ranking millennials’ concerns*. By addressing challenges of global impact, the Academy offers to future aerospace professionals the opportunity to learn how to keep aerospace relevant to society, transforming and reinventing the industry.

Taking inspiration from Airbus experts in engineering and digital technologies and with the support of leading Cranfield faculty, students applied state-of-the-art innovation methods to develop their proposals over the week-long programme. Each team benefited from the guidance of Airbus experts and Airbus intrapreneurship coaches throughout the week, which culminated in a pitching session to an expert jury, also live-streamed globally.

Yogesh said that for shaping the future of the Aerospace Industry, “My interests lie in smart urban mobility, for example flying taxis, driverless cars, or smart drones. So, in the future I wish to play an integral role in the urban mobility scene by driving innovation and introducing new technological innovations.”

Intense teamwork were interspersed with an energising series of interactive talks on highly digital, emerging technology and innovative business activities. Thousands of other students, as well as aerospace and digital enthusiasts, joined and contributed through the live-streamed sessions to hear from some of the experts revolutionising aerospace today.

“At Airbus, we believe that the technology to radically change the world is within our grasp, and we will need talented people who can harness new tools, a new mindset, and work effectively in diverse and multi-disciplinary teams. The network and the skills that students will develop this week while creating imaginative and practical responses to critical world challenges will be invaluable for their future careers,” said Airbus’ Chief Human Resources Officer Thierry Baril.

This initiative is part of Airbus’ commitment to working with education to develop the skills and competencies needed for the future of the industry.

*According to a recent Global World Education Forum Global Shapers Report ranking millennials’concerns, food and water security rank among the top 10 key concerns http://www.shaperssurvey2017.org/