Four Abu Dhabi students have visited a world class defence, aerospace and security company in England as a reward for their performance in a local competition.

The Al Ain Colleges students visited BAE Systems in Lancashire after coming third in the 2013 UAE Innovation challenge, which required them to design and build an unmanned air vehicle (UAV).

They spent three days meeting BAE Systems staff, showcasing their UAV design, meeting staff and touring facilities including the Typhoon jet fighter production line.

Martin Willcocks, head of business development for BAE Systems’ Future Combat Air Systems team, said: “The United Arab Emirates is building a well-earned reputation for academic excellence and we were honoured to host the Al Ain Colleges team.

“The students were a pleasure to host and we were greatly impressed by the maturity and technical ability they demonstrated when taking our team through their award winning UAV design.”

halbustani@thenational.ae