ICAO launched in 2022 a global competition under the theme of “Innovation and Resilience in aviation”.

The ICAO Innovation Competition was open to university students enrolled in a final year of a Bachelor’s programme or in a Master’s programme. It was designed to spark innovative ideas and concepts for new solutions or services supporting the five ICAO Strategic Objectives and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs).

The jury of this competition featured:
 

• Mr. Salvatore Sciacchitano, President of the ICAO Council;
• Mr. Juan Carlos Salazar, Secretary General of the International Civil Aviation Organization;
• Mr. Zurab Pololikashvili, Secretary General of the UN World Tourism Organization;
• Mr. Simon Hocquard, Director General of the Civil Air Navigation Services Organization (CANSO);
• Ms. Angela Albritton, Representative of ALICANTO;
• Mr. Luis Felipe de Oliveira, Director General of Airports Council International (ACI);
• Mr. Eric Fanning, Chairperson of the International Coordinating Council of Aerospace Industries Associations (ICCAIA);

PROBLEM STATEMENT

 
Over the past decades, international civil aviation has overcome important challenges and demonstrated its ability to withstand major shocks and disruptions. This was made possible thanks to the commitment of aviation professionals across the globe, who have developed and implemented processes and technical solutions to enhance the resilience of the sector. However, in the context of an ever-growing traffic forecast, the intrinsic capacity of the aviation system is stretched, making any disruption to operations a system-wide challenge. In addition, any measure to build and strengthen resilience in aviation has to further support the ICAO Strategic Objectives of Safety, Air Navigation Capacity and Efficiency, Security & Facilitation, Economic Development of Air Transport and Environmental Protection.

In addition, the magnitude, duration, and global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly affected air transport operations and the future of such operations, putting people at the center of the response: travellers and aviation professionals alike. A global consensus has emerged on the pivotal role of aviation workers in finding and implementing solutions for the conduct of aviation operations, at all levels and across the aviation value chain.

With this in mind, the resilient future of international civil aviation cannot materialize without a workforce aware of the challenges faced by the sector and ready to commit to imagining the aviation it wants. By resilience, we mean the ability of the sector to ensure the continuity of air mobility while progressing the five ICAO Strategic Objectives and contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
 

RESULT

Mirlo (Winner)
 

Mirlo takes the top spot in the ICAO Innovation Competition with its game-changing the multidisciplinary solution for aeronautical communication. Mirlo ensures clear communication using the power of machine learning to decrease the level of uncertainty and ambiguity induced by different accents. By making sure everyone understands each other, Mirlo boosts safety and efficiency in aviation.

Team Members:

• Michael Josue CHAVES VARGAS
• Morelia SOTO-GARRO
• Maryam SAFAIFARD

Airbus offered an internship to the winning team within its organization, such as Airbus UpNext.

Congratulations to the Mirlo team for their outstanding innovation!

AI Resilience Consultant (Finalist)

AI Resilience is an innovative proposal of an Artificial Intelligence Resilience Evaluator, coupled with a dedicated global commission of experts that would develop aviation-specific global resilience standards. It is a platform for standardised aviation resilience guidelines, with experts across public and private organisations. Global recognition and participation for all resilience considerations different environments and cultures.

Team Members: Kiswendssida Tehohore OUEDRAOGO, Osamah AL SHAMI

iAssist (Finalist)

The introduction of the 'iASSIST' tool represents a transformative innovation in civil aviation compliance and addresses the challenges faced by countries striving to meet SARPS. Powered by data analysis and Artificial Intelligence, it would provide Member States with tailored solutions to enhance aviation infrastructure, safety, and regulatory frameworks. Aligned with ICAO's mission and UN Sustainable Development Goals, iASSIST would revolutionize compliance management by identifying areas of non-compliance and offering real-time data-driven solutions.

Team Members: Angelo Giovanni GAILLET, Karan KARAN, Diandra-Sorana GRAMA, Ankush KUMAR, Uday Chandra GOLLAPALLI.

Congratulations to all participants for their innovative contributions to the future of aviation.