UTokyo team led by Mr. Satoshi Miyatani, 2nd year student in the master’s program in aerospace and aeronautics engineering, was among the five finalists at the Fly Your Ideas Contest sponsored by Airbus in partnership with UNESCO. Mr. Miyatani participated in a short course at UC Berkeley in the summer 2013 as a recipient of FUTI’s Global Leadership Award.
The competition attracted over 500 entries from 105 countries. The five finalists included the University of Tokyo team, Team Birdport. Because birdstrikes can cause serious damage to aircraft and pose a serious danger to the safety of passengers, the team wants to minimize the number of collision incidents using drones which will lead birds to a designated safe area away from planes. This is the first time that a Japanese team has advanced to the top five. For details see:
http://www6.nhk.or.jp/kokusaihoudou/lounge/index.html?i=150602 (Japanese)
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/05/26/travel/gallery/airbus-fly-your-ideas-contest/
In his reply to FUTI President’s congratulatory note, Mr. Miyatani says, “I appreciate the financial support from Friends of UTokyo for my study abroad program two years ago. It was one of the most important experiences in my life, which brought me to this final round. At the summer program, I did my first-time English presentation in front of a lot of students from abroad. I still remember that while speaking I was shaking from extreme nervousness. I had no confidence in my opinion and English. The experience changed my mind. After the program, I was determined to apply to graduate schools in the U.S. and France and then have improved my English skill. As you watched in TV, I did my best English presentation on such a big stage. Now I have confidence in English and myself. I am going to study at a graduate school in France, ISAE-SUPAERO (Institur Supérieur de l’Aérpnautique et de l’Espace), which is one of the best universities in Europe and famous for its drone research.”
