Airbus organises start-up event in Singapore

Airbus’ first start-up event held over the weekend of 2-4 June in Singapore, attracted around 80 participants from the region, competing on aerospace concepts that could lead to greater innovation in the industry.

Held in partnership with SGInnovate, a Singapore government agency supporting entrepreneurial start-ups, the participants worked day and night to fine-tune their ideas.

The event was inspired by the Singapore government’s Smart Nation initiative, which aims to identify solutions that use connectivity and technology to improve the life of ordinary people, particularly in areas such as transportation, infrastructure and security.

Each team had three minutes to pitch their plans to a panel of judges, which included representatives from Airbus, Singapore’s Economic Development Board (EDB), the Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) and the Singapore Space and Technology Association (SSTA).

Winning the top prize of $5,000 and an A380 full flight simulator experience was Team R.E.D., postgraduate students from Malaysia’s University Putra Malaysia and University of Malaya, which came up with an innovative first responder application for emergency and disaster support. Other impressive ideas included one that uses IOT sensors and satellite data for early detection and management of oil spills, and another that leverages a network of drones and satellite sensors to provide an efficient delivery solution.

Guillaume Faury, CEO of Airbus Helicopters, awarded the prizes to the winning teams.

Mr Faury said: “Airbus is making multiple efforts to deepen its engagement with the start-up ecosystem, and this is part of a broader global effort to increase the speed of innovation in the aerospace industry. This start-up event allows Airbus to tap on the vibrant start-up eco-system in Singapore and the region. We met some talented developers with very interesting ideas, and we are confident that some of these can contribute to Singapore’s Smart Nation initiative.”

“This start-up event is a great initiative by Airbus, in addition to several technology development projects it is already undertaking here. It reinforces the strong partnership between Airbus and Singapore. The event will give Singapore’s growing start-up ecosystem a boost, and could pave the way towards new business opportunities and partnerships between Airbus and young companies here and in the region,” said Lim Kok Kiang, Assistant Managing Director, EDB.

Airbus is involved in several innovation projects in Singapore. These include the “Hangar of the Future”, which aims to develop new digital solutions for maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) providers, and the Skyways unmanned parcel delivery system.