Essay Competition

The future of flight: imagining aviation in 2055

We at the Brahmal Institute are excited to announce our essay competition – "The future of flight: imagining aviation in 2055".  We welcome submissions from forward-thinking students across the Department of Aeronautics. Please read below for more information: 

About the Competition

Predicting the future is never simple – it requires creativity and imagination as much as analysis. Aviation has always been shaped by advances in technology, from the first jet engines to today’s experiments with electric and hydrogen power. By 2055, new fuels may transform not only how aircraft fly but also how they are designed. Will hydrogen tanks reshape the fuselage? Could electric propulsion lead to quieter, sleeker regional planes? Might blended-wing bodies become the norm for efficiency?

Your Challenge

Write an essay that envisions what aviation will look like in 2055. Consider how advances in fuel, design and sustainability might change the aircraft we see in the skies, and explore the social, economic or environmental impacts of these changes.  Taken together, these ideas may offer a glimpse of how aviation could evolve over the coming decades.

Who Can Enter

Open to Imperial College students in:

• Aeronautics Undergraduate
• Aeronautics MSc
• Aeronautics PhD

Submission Requirements

• Word limit: 3,000 words
• Figures & tables: no more than eight
• Formatting: minimum 11 point, 1.5 spaced
• Bibliography not included in word count

Prize: 1st place - £300

Winning essays will be displayed on the Brahmal Institute and Aeronautics webpages. 

Deadline: 15 February 2026.

Submissions will be done via Blackboard. Please check back here soon for the link to the submission inbox. We look forward to reading your essays!

For any questions, please email brahmal-institute@imperial.ac.uk