Boeing is offering young talent in India a platform to showcase their skills in designing solutions for the aerospace industry. How? It has been organising the Boeing National Aeromodelling Competition for some time now. The 10th edition of the annual contest saw 1,400 students from 432 institutions across India participating this year. Women constituted a significant 24 per cent of the 46 finalists!
Twelve teams made it to the finale held in Bengaluru where three teams were declared winners of the competition. All 46 finalists this year will get a chance to participate in the Boeing Apprenticeship programme for a year. The team from IIT Madras bagged the first position, followed by the teams from IIT Kharagpur in second and third positions, respectively.
Salil Gupte, president, Boeing India & South Asia, said, “As one of the world’s fastest-growing aviation markets, India is rapidly building up its aerospace workforce. We are proud that the Boeing National Aeromodelling Competition has provided talented engineers a platform to demonstrate talent in designing real solutions for the aerospace industry for the past decade.”
The zonal rounds of the competition were held at IIT Kanpur, IIT Bombay, IIT Kharagpur and IIT Madras.
Sponsored by Boeing, the competition is conducted in collaboration with IIT Bombay, IIT Kanpur, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Madras and RV College of Engineering. The competition was launched in 2013 with the aim of engaging aerospace engineers in building industry solutions.
Participants are given the opportunity to design, build, test and fly fixed-wing aircraft models under defined performance criteria.
Stacie Sire, vice president, managing director, Boeing India Engineering & Technology Centre, and chief engineer, Boeing India, said “This competition introduces students to the rigour of aerospace design and execution. Working with timelines and performance parameters prepares participants for the practical demands of the industry while fostering innovation and problem-solving skills.”
Boeing has been investing in helping nurture talent for the aerospace sector in India for years now. Its programmes, including Boeing University Innovation Leadership Development (BUILD), and other initiatives in the past such as the Boeing HorizonX India Innovation Challenge and the Accelerated Aircraft Maintenance Engineers (AME) Apprenticeship programme, have empowered entrepreneurs and successfully built a skilled workforce for the country’s aerospace and defence sector.
