Institution news
GKN Aerospace found this to be an opportunity not only to lead the development of the engineers of tomorrow, but also to progress key technologies for the aerospace sector of the future.
The Challenge has gone from strength to strength, since 2014, to become a leading student competition in the aerospace sector. With over 200 students competing from across the globe, the standards are consistently set high. The competition has ambitious aims to develop professional engineers and inspire the next generation, all aspirations that GKN Aerospace as a member of Aerospace Growth Partnership (AGP) supports.
Industry-linked projects such as the UAS Challenge provide a great alternative to conventional undergraduate industrial placement as a means of bridging the academic-industry experience gap; helping to inspire and to develop students into highly competent young professionals.
Projects like this allow flexible, long term student-industry collaboration which benefits students and companies alike. They also build a pipeline of student talent by providing access to network among a group of highly focused and enthusiastic students, enabling opportunities for recruiting from among the best-skilled young people of the future.
The challenge covers several important aspects of everyday engineering; it engages young undergraduates to be resourceful, solution driven, timely in delivery, and to maintain and push at boundaries of the highest standards, held together by cohesive teamwork.
In a world that’s driven by creativity and innovation, the constant push to learn and benefit from exposure to new approaches to technologies such as unmanned aerial vehicles is key. Students are often a source of great inspiration and new ideas, sharing perspectives that can often be overlooked by teams working constantly under commercial pressure.
The UAS Challenge helps industry to engage with communities around the country and inspire students to take up a role within the aerospace sector, whilst developing their skillsets. Giving back to society has significant mutual benefits for corporate organisations.
As we pride ourselves in investing in future capabilities to help drive future growth in the industry; this ethos is as applicable to people as it is to technologies. Investing in diverse talent for tomorrow not only ensures a way for GKN Aerospace to future-proof ourselves by engaging the next generation of engineers and creating a clear pathway of progression from study to work – it is also one of our core values as a global corporation.
As a leading global aerospace manufacturing company, it is important for GKN Aerospace to promote and practice social responsibility within the industry. GKN Aerospace expects to join hands with the UAS Challenge to engage with communities around the country and the world providing communities with opportunities of showcasing local talent, skill and practical application of academic knowledge.
In conclusion, there are many benefits to engaging with and supporting student competitions within the aerospace industry. It is important to identify these in order to understand how best to invest resources.
The industry also benefits from an improved overall standard of experience and learning generated from consolidated efforts from various organisations within the sector. Engaging in forward thinking areas such as Unmanned Aerial Systems helps to plan for the future by ensuring that our investment has gone into training tomorrow’s engineers in innovative growth areas of the industry. We are pleased at the opportunity the Institution of Mechanical Engineers provides us, the students and the industry as a whole by initiatives such as this.