SUT Students Win 3rd Runner-Up at COLOSSUS X-Challenge by German Aerospace Center, October 14-17, 2025, Spain

 

Suranaree University of Technology proudly congratulates the SUT Ember AeroTech team from the School of Mechanical Engineering on winning 3rd Runner-Up at the COLOSSUS X-Challenge organized by the German Aerospace Center (DLR). The team was invited to present their work at the 15th European Aerospace Science Network (EASN) Conference in Madrid, Spain, held on October 14-17, 2025, Madrid, Spain.

 

Team SUT Ember AeroTech consists of international program students from the School of Mechanical Engineering:

 

Mr. Kyaw Zaw Hlyan

Mr. Kaung Sett Toe

Ms. Soe Yu Waddy

Mr. Aung Hein Kyaw

Supervised by Dr. Auraluck Pichitkul from the School of Mechanical Engineering.

 

 

About the COLOSSUS X-Challenge

This challenge was the first international student competition that incorporated System-of-Systems alongside aerial wildfire fighting in a holistic framework. Talented teams from around the world tackled one of the most urgent global challenges — combating wildfires through advanced aerial strategies, collaborative technologies, and innovative systems thinking.

 

The challenge provided a method for students to apply their theoretical engineering knowledge whilst exploring operational design and bolstering their coding knowledge in a holistic, operation-focused manner, facilitating the design of next-generation solutions for wildfire response.

 

Competition Process

Over six months, teams developed aircraft designs and aerial wildfire fighting solutions using the COLOSSUS Toolkit for modelling System-of-Systems (SoSID). Students gained insights from Jose Manuel García, a Spanish firefighting pilot, through a detailed video lecture that motivated their aircraft and operational design choices.

 

Five Finalist Teams from the USA, the Netherlands, South Korea, and Thailand advanced to the final round:

 

Purdue University (USA)

Hanseo University (South Korea)

Georgia Institute of Technology (USA)

Suranaree University of Technology (Thailand)

TU Delft (Netherlands)

The top four teams, including SUT Ember AeroTech, were invited and fully supported to present their work at the 15th European Aerospace Science Network (EASN) Conference in Madrid, Spain. The conference provided a stage for teams to showcase their visionary ideas and receive global feedback from state-of-the-art researchers on their aircraft design, operational strategy, and evaluation methods.

 

 

Judging Panel consisted of experts from the EU Commission, research institutes, and industry who evaluated and ranked the teams based on their presentations in a symposium.

 

Suranaree University of Technology is extremely proud of the SUT Ember AeroTech team’s achievement in demonstrating academic excellence and representing the university and Thailand with distinction on the global stage.

 

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https://cia.sut.ac.th/sut-students-win-3rd-runner-up-at-colossus-x-challenge-by-german-aerospace-center/

 

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