From Bucharest to Stuttgart, Munich, or Arizona, a team of Romanian students is turning their passion for aerospace engineering into aircraft built from scratch. NOVA—a team comprising students from the National University of Science and Technology POLITEHNICA Bucharest and members of EUROAVIA Bucharest—has been included in the “100 Young People for Romania’s Development” national campaign, organized by the Dan Voiculescu Foundation for the Development of Romania.
For NOVA members, aerospace engineering goes beyond formulas, simulations, and university lectures. It involves designing, building, and testing unmanned aerial vehicles capable of meeting complex technical challenges and competing against projects developed by students from around the world. The team’s goal is to foster interest in the aerospace field through hands-on experience and real-world engineering challenges. NOVA develops UAVs and unmanned aerial systems for international competitions, with its activities divided into two key areas. The AIM branch develops high-performance fixed-wing aircraft, combining aerodynamic efficiency with composite materials and modern control systems. AEROS, on the other hand, focuses on multicopters—agile drones designed for racing and missions where performance is paramount.
The team’s progress is evident in the results achieved over the past few years. In 2024, competing under the name AEROATLAS, the students qualified for the Air Cargo Challenge in Aachen, Germany—one of Europe’s premier competitions for model aircraft. Facing other 30 international teams, the Romanian project finished 20th out of 31. A year later, the team crossed the Atlantic for the AIAA Design/Build/Fly 2025 competition in Tucson, Arizona. There, the Romanian students competed in a field of 112 teams, alongside representatives from universities such as MIT, Stanford, Georgia Tech, and the University of Washington. NOVA placed 62nd, finishing ahead of institutions like MIT and Stanford. Also in 2025, the team achieved one of its most significant results: first place at the Student AirRace in Munich, the world’s first competition dedicated to “Hyperdrone”-class drones. The Romanian students competed in an inaugural event that brought together teams from Romania, Germany, and Spain, while also serving as a showcase for new aerospace technologies.
In the summer of 2026, NOVA returned to the Air Cargo Challenge—held that year in Stuttgart, Germany—with a far more ambitious project. The competition brought together teams from leading European and international engineering universities at the starting line, including TU Delft, Politecnico di Milano, the Technical University of Munich, the University of Udine, and the Universidade da Beira Interior. The technical challenge was complex: creating an electric, fixed-wing UAV capable of carrying 330 ml cans, each weighing 350 grams. The aircraft were evaluated based on both speed and efficiency while carrying the maximum possible payload. The Romanian students’ project was named V-SIX—an aircraft designed to achieve peak performance within the strict power limits set by the organizers. During development, the team focused on applying and optimizing established aerospace industry methods for UAV design, effectively turning the competition into a genuine research and innovation laboratory for the students.
The results confirmed their progress: NOVA finished the Air Cargo Challenge 2026 in 9th place, breaking into the top 10 and making a significant leap compared to their ranking during the previous two years. However, NOVA’s achievements are not limited to fixed-wing aircraft. The team also participated in the Military Student Multirotor Fest, where they were the only civilian team in a piloting competition organized by military universities. Out of the 20 registered pilots, the NOVA representative secured second place.
These results and the team’s innovative approach have now led to NOVA’s inclusion in the “100 Young People for Romania’s Development” national campaign, conducted by the Dan Voiculescu Foundation for the Development of Romania. By joining this campaign, the students become part of a new generation of young Romanians excelling in education, research, technology, science, culture, and sports. For NOVA, the next challenge is not merely to climb the rankings again, but to demonstrate that the future of the aerospace industry can also begin in a student laboratory in Bucharest.
