Boris Kolesnikov Foundation sends one hundred winners of the «Aviator 2019» competition to a prestigious forum in France
On April 12, on Aviation and Cosmonautics Day, the Boris Kolesnikov Foundation summed up the results of the all-Ukrainian student competition «Aviator 2019» and announced the names of its one hundred winners. They were awarded certificates for a trip to the Le Bourget International Air and Space Salon in France.
This academic year, 8,500 students from 50 technical and aviation universities in the country took part in «Aviator». They passed four qualifying stages: testing in the history and theory of the industry, technical English, exact sciences, and also defended business cases before experts in the final of the project.
The competition jury included: Anton Volov, a graduate of Harvard University, holder of the scholarship «Future Leaders in Transport» Eno Center for Transportation (USA); Oleksandr Cherepanov, an expert in the aviation industry; Maksym Gladsky, head of the academic relations department «Progrestech-Ukraine»; Yevhen Ivanov, director of the Emirates representative office in Ukraine. The team of professionals was led by the famous aircraft designer Dmytro Kiva.
Experts note – from year to year, the contestants’ projects become more complex, more professional, and cover a wide range of topics. This time they concerned the use of augmented reality technologies, combating aerophobia, reducing the cost of charter flights, creating online platforms, combating pollution, air traffic control, developing drones with various tasks and functions, implementing a progressive system for providing medical care on board an aircraft, etc.
«The «Interested Investor» format, chosen for the final stage of «Aviator», allowed students to open up, enter into a dialogue with the jury members, present their works in a practical aspect, and demonstrate their creative potential. We are watching how the intellectual component of Ukrainian aviation is being formed, and I see this as a great merit of the Boris Kolesnikov Foundation. The fact that a hundred young aviators become guests of the largest international air shows every year cannot be overestimated. This is a huge contribution to the development of Ukrainian science and education», – shared his impressions Yevhen Ivanov, a member of the project jury.
The President of the Foundation congratulated the hundred best students on their brilliant victory in the competition and their upcoming trip to the prestigious Le Bourget aviation forum in Paris. «Our country has made a worthy contribution to the history of world cosmonautics and aviation. And, despite the fact that over the past five years we have not produced a single aircraft, looking at our winners, I am absolutely confident in the future of Ukrainian aviation and the future of our youth. Among their works are good large-scale developments in the field of unmanned aerial vehicles, there is even a proposal to reduce the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The competition committee will consider 4-5 projects of the winners for an additional grant to create their own business by them and their teams, », – noted Boris Kolesnikov.
The students’ trip to France will take place in June. At the aviation forum they will see new products and the best achievements of the global aerospace industry, talk to professionals, take master classes, and also visit the famous Disneyland amusement park.
Among the winners of «Aviator-2019» seven students and young specialists, graduates of the Zaporizhzhia National Technical University, namely: Marakin Vitalii Igorovich (gr. M-714m), Moroz Bohdan Konstantinovich (gr. M-714m), Nahalyuk Maryna Andreevna (gr. M-614m), Pokhvalitov Andriy Vyacheslavovich (ZMKB DP «Ivchenko-Progress»), Panin Volodymyr Volodymyrovich (KP NVK «Iskra»), Vynnyk Mykhailo Dmytrovych (JSC «SPKTB «Zaporizhhydrostal»), Mikhailyutenko Oleh Anatolyovich (JSC «Motor-Sich»).
«There are days whose significance can only be appreciated over time. It seems to me that today is just such a day for me. On my professional holiday, I received a wonderful gift – the opportunity to visit Paris together with boys and girls from other universities and cities, become part of the big world of aviation, and in the future – join the ranks of the technical and aviation elite of Ukraine, – said Oleh Mikhailutenko, winner of the «Aviator 2019» competition from Zaporizhzhia National Technical University.
Let us recall that the Boris Kolesnikov Foundation twice became the winner of the National Rating of Philanthropists in the nomination «The Best Charitable Organization with a Budget of 10 to 100 Million UAH Invested in the Development of Science and Education in Ukraine». Every year, thousands of talented and purposeful students join the Foundation’s educational projects («Aviator», «Maritime», «Railway Worker», «Programmer», «Agro», «Architect» and «Food Technologies») who plan to implement their own developments and develop startups in domestic industries.
