The IATA FACE UP! Competition gives recent graduates around the world the opportunity to present their innovative ideas to industry executives at the 2024 World Cargo Symposium (WCS) in Hong Kong, China.

Voting was launched during the closing plenary, and the winner announced an hour later.

The WCS attendees selected Erik Goldenstein, Fraunhofer, as the winner of the 2024 edition for his idea, “NE:ONE Play.”

The two runners-up are:  

  • Arjan Bhogal, Buckinghamshire New University – ‘ Reducing the air cargo industry’s single-use plastics problem’
  • Niclas Scheiber, Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences – ‘Unleashing the semantic potential of ONE Record’

The winner will receive a free voucher providing access to nine live virtual classroom courses, for in-depth exploration of the fundamentals and foundation of business management strategy, skills and development tools for air cargo. 

Since the launch of the competition in September 2023, IATA received many entries from students and researchers from all around the world.  

Entries have been evaluated by an independent jury comprising industry experts and executives of leading aviation supply chain companies. They have based their assessment on the innovative, transforming, and visionary nature of the content, as well as the quality of the solution presented in the thesis. 

IATA would like to thank the six members of the 2024 Jury for their hard work and detailed and honest feedback.

  • Vivien Lau, Chief Executive, Jardine Aviation Services Group
  • Daniela Vial, Director Of Product Development, LATAM Cargo
  • Kirsten de Bruijn, Executive Vice President Cargo, WestJet
  • Ilan Biton, CEO, Enabling Insight
  • Ashwin Bhat, Chief Executive Officer, Lufthansa Cargo
  • Lucas Fernandez, VP Innovation & Insights, CHAMP Cargosystems

The independent jury members were impressed by all the ideas submitted, from the variety of the ideas and backgrounds to the different parts of the world represented by participants.

IATA is very proud of the academic community and your passion for making air cargo better.