In June 2012, the Airbus Corporate Foundation announced that it would be working alongside United Way of the Plains to sponsor a mentor program—the Airbus Foundation Flying Challenge.

“The Airbus Flying Challenge is a great opportunity for Wichita State University College of Engineering students,” Karen Reynolds, the director of Retention and Recruiting at the College of Engineering, said. “They get to share their enthusiasm for engineering and for WSU with middle school students, and at the same time interact with and learn from experienced engineers and other Airbus professionals.”

Ana Lazarin, director of Programs to Broaden Participation in Engineering, explained that apart from benefiting the at-risk middle school students, the program is a great resource for the current engineering students in terms of the exposure they receive working hand-in-hand with Airbus professionals.

The program serves as a constructive volunteer program for students receiving scholarships from WSU who need to fulfill some amount of volunteer work in order to retain the scholarship.

In addition, the program is especially valuable to international students. International students often have limited access to some of the programs offered on campus. For example, the NASA jump-start program, unfortunately, requires students to be U.S. citizens.

The first semester of the Airbus Flying Challenge came to a close on Nov. 30 in an event that brought the middle school students to the WSU campus and introduced them to some of the facilities available. The students were introduced to the supersonic wind tunnel, the crash lab and the environmental chambers, among other hands on activities.

The Airbus Flying Challenge is currently seeking applicants for the spring semester. It is valued at $250,000.