AIRBUS has selected 100 student teams from across five continents to go to the next round of the 2013 Fly Your Ideas challenge.

Of these, 49 per cent are from Asie Pacific, 37 per cent from Europe, eight per cent from the Americas, three per cent from Africa and three per cent from Middle East.

At this stage of the competition, Airbus has identified the most innovative ideas from over 600 teams, who entered the third edition of the UNESCO-backed competition.

The number of participants has doubled compared to the previous contest. The Fly Your Ideas contest challenges students worldwide to develop ideas for a more sustainable aviation industry.

The teams now have until April 12, 2013 to explore, test and develop their concepts. While the idea remains in the hands of the students, an Airbus mentor and expert have been assigned to each team to support, inspire and challenge the competitors.

“Fly Your Ideas offers a unique opportunity for the students involved to gain valuable insight into this cutting-edge industry which today supports over 56 million jobs and 35 per cent of global trade,” explained Charles Champion, Airbus executive vice-president engineering and Patron of Fly Your Ideas.

“I am delighted to see the enthusiasm of the teams and our Airbus experts who are committed to sharing their know-how with these students from around the world who are the innovators of the future.”

The students are battling it out to be one of the five final teams to present their idea to a panel of Airbus and industry experts at Airbus in Hamburg, Germany on June 12, 2013.

The awards ceremony will take place in Paris on June 13, 2013 at the UNESCO headquarters. At stake, are the first prize of ¤30,000 and the chance for the winning team to host an ‘innovation week’ on campus run by Airbus experts. The runner-up team wins ¤15,000.

To find out more and to follow the teams go onto https://www.airbus-fyi.com.