‘The Little Engineer’ workshops for Omani students part of ‘Future by Airbus’ initiative for sustainable aviation empowered by the future talent.
Under the patronage of HE Mohsin Khamis Al Balushi Advisor –Ministry Of Commerce and Industry, chairman of the Public Authority for Manpower Registration, Oman Air and Airbus held ‘The Future by Airbus’ presentation at the Higher College of Technology – Muscat on Saturday, 23rd March.
The event showcased Airbus’ vision of sustainable aviation in 2050 and beyond through a special screening of ‘Smarter Skies’ – a 20 minutes movie. Airbus also presented a market forecast and talked about the future of flight, relevant innovations and talent.
The two companies will also jointly host two school workshops in Muscat this week conducted by The Little Engineer (TLE), an organisation dedicated to instilling an appreciation of science and technology among today’s youth. These workshops are taking place at Sultan Private School and Azzan Bin Qais International School on 24th and 25th March, 2013.
“Oman Air has been successfully growing its network while focusing on innovation and quality, two crucial elements for the development of the aviation industry,” said Wayne Pearce, CEO of Oman Air. “Innovation requires the right talent who we constantly invest in and today we are proud to join efforts with Airbus in bringing The Little Engineer to young Omani students to give them a taste of engineering and excite them about aviation because they are the future of our industry.”
Smarter Skies’ is the latest installment in The Future by Airbus – a vision of sustainable aviation in 2050. Following the radical Concept Plane and Concept Cabin, Smarter Skies now looks beyond aircraft design for more efficient operations both in the air and on the ground. Smarter Skies goes beyond the usual boundaries to look at disruptive ideas to cut time, delay and emissions..
Whilst some concepts remain an engineer’s dream, Airbus is already working on the development and use of alternative fuels and supporting plans for more efficient air traffic management. Airbus believes that in the future more people should be able to share in the benefits of air travel; that a more connected world can also be a more sustainable world; and that the right combination of technology and talent – along with the right investment, support and cooperation – can make this happen.
For Oman Air, this comes as part of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme and its strategy towards contributing tangibly to the academic sphere.
Oman Air is happy to be joining hands with Airbus – one of the leading manufacturer of aircraft in the world to bring the path-breaking concepts in airline and aviation to the future engineers of Oman.
“The Middle East plays an important role in the future of aviation with an estimated demand for 1,960 new aircraft for the coming 20 years. The estimated passenger growth for this market over the same period stands at 6.2 per cent,” said Fouad Attar, Managing Director of Airbus Middle East. “With a growing presence in the region, Oman Air has much to offer to the future of travel and to help in shaping it. We are very delighted to host with them The Little Engineer workshops to instil passion for innovation and engineering amongst the Omani youth.”
Oman Air strongly believes in the importance of innovation for a sustainable aviation industry and has been the first airline in the world to introduce new services such as OnAir internet and mobile on board of their Airbus A330 aircraft.
Airbus has announced earlier this month a regional partnership with TLE as a result of on-going efforts to inspire and instill a passion for science and technology at an early age. It aims through this partnership to engage with more than 500 students the Middle East in 2013.
For more information on Future by Airbus and TLE go to www.thefuturebyairbus.com and www.thelittleengineer.com.
