By Dela Ahiawor
Team Aeromorph, co-led by Clinton Ikechukwu and Oghosa Osazemen Abu, wins prestigious aviation tech prize at the Paris International Airshow 2025.
In a moment that merges innovation with identity, Team Aeromorph, led by three brilliant international students, including two proud Nigerians, has been awarded the Airbus Fly Your Ideas 2025 Global Prize at the prestigious Paris International Airshow on June 20 in France.
Representing the Technical University of Chemnitz and the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Meta 4.0 Programme, the team of Clinton Ikechukwu (Nigeria), Oghosa Osazemen Abu (Nigeria), and Muhammad Junaid Ali (Pakistan) stood out from over 300 teams across 49 countries and 299 universities to emerge winners in a competition that challenges students globally to solve real-world aerospace challenges.
Their innovation, EVALAND, is an explainable, vision-based AI system designed to support pilots during non-classical emergency landings. The AI co-pilot identifies the safest possible landing strip in under 50 milliseconds, combining speed with life-saving precision, an advancement that could transform emergency aviation safety.
“We feel really grateful for this global win. It says a lot about who we are and our sense of self-development. When we started at the first stages, we had no idea we would be making it to this global stage, let alone deserving of such recognition or validation from the jury. In all, this was a team effort, through and through.” Clinton spoke after the event at Le Bourget from his hotel room.
Oghosa said, “It was impressive to see how an idea that started on paper became a reality through the process and filled a very specific gap. What we learned in our studies turned out to be directly applicable and went beyond theory. The foundation of our project was inspired by the work of Mélanie Ducoffe; her scientific paper ‘Don’t Lie to Me! Robust and Efficient Explainability with Verified Perturbation Analysis’ had a major influence on us. Using mathematical models to understand the inner workings of AI opened our eyes, and incorporating those insights into our AI system was truly exciting. I was also thrilled to see the airshow live in Paris—it was an unforgettable experience.”
This speaks not only to the technical achievement of the team, but also to the unmistakable brilliance that Nigerian students continue to exhibit on the world stage.
For Clinton Ikechukwu and Oghosa Osazemen Abu, this win is more than a personal milestone. It’s a reflection of the depth of talent Nigeria continues to produce, often with limited resources but limitless drive. In a global competition dominated by top-tier institutions, their success is a strong counter-narrative to the perception that innovation is reserved for certain geographies or economic backgrounds.
As the world looks to future-proof aviation and other high-stakes industries, Nigeria’s intellectual capital is clearly not to be overlooked.
Team Aeromorph of the Technical University of Chemnitz (TUC) in Germany made it to the finals in France from over 300 university teams across the globe. On April 30, 2025 Team Aeromorph’s AI‐powered emergency-landing assistant, EVA_LAND, earned the team a place in the finals. During the semi-finals on May 15, 2025 Team Aeromorph presented live in a digital event. Next, Team Aeromorph will represent (TUC) in Paris, France where they will compete against: Team SkyOptima (Singapore) and Team Atlas Trio USM (Malaysia).
The Airbus Fly Your Ideas 2025 Competition is structured in three distinct phases designed to test the skill and knowledge of participants:
Phase 1: Submission of a 30-second video pitch and Power Point proposal. A total of 366 teams applied, representing 49 countries and 229 universities.
Phase 2: Airbus experts reviewed all entries and selected the top six teams to present live to a judging panel.
Phase 3: Final competition to be held on June 20, 2025 at the Paris Airshow 2025 (Le Bourget).
MEET TEAM AEROMORPH:
Clinton Ikechukwu (Nigeria)
M.Sc. Advanced Manufacturing and recipient of Manufacturing 4.0 for Intelligent & Sustainable Technologies (meta 4.0), European Union
Oghosa Abu (Nigeria)
M.Sc. candidate in Advanced & Computational Mathematics
Muhammad Junaid Ali (Pakistan)
M.Sc. in Advanced Manufacturing
M.Sc. Advanced Manufacturing and recipient of Manufacturing 4.0 for Intelligent & Sustainable Technologies (meta 4.0), European Union
PHOTO: (L-R), Clinton Ikechukwu, Oghosa Abu, Muhammad Junaid Ali
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