Five hundred engineers are now part of Airbus India’s Information Management Centre here in Bengaluru, the aviation major’s largest such hub outside Europe. But there is a unique way they were recruited: An innovation hackathon dubbed ‘Aerothon.’
Last week, the company wrapped up its second Aerothon at its centre in Whitefield, aimed at hiring fresh talent to support its information technology and digital capabilities. Over 6,000 graduates turned up for the day-long, off-campus event.
The Aerothon was a ‘Hackathon’ challenge. After an opening round, the shortlisted ideas were judged by an Airbus panel on creativity, technological potential and clarity. Airbus officials explained how the hackathon helped the aviation major identify potential recruits for the centre.
The focus was on Artificial Intelligence (AI), Digital Transformation (DT), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Automation, Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) & Engineering Solutions and Monitoring & Analytics, among others.
Airbus India, as its officials inform, has a University Partner Programme that connects it to a network of varsities in the areas of engineering and technology.
To bring industry and academia together, it has inked partnerships with the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru; Indian Institutes of Technology in Kharagpur, Kanpur, Mumbai and Chennai, RVCE Bengaluru, Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh, Jadavpur University and NIT Trichy.
Internships, full-time jobs and research projects are part of this engagement. “Platforms like Aerothon help us engage virtually with many universities across India and scout for top talent in India,” says an Airbus official.