Excellence in STEM Achievement Alumni Award - Winners

Ms Andreea Cristoloveanu graduated in 2016, with MEng in Aeronautical Engineering. She is a Heathrow Airport Delivery Manager at British Airways.

Andreea’s career with British Airways has taken her from Engineering to the heights of operational delivery within one of the world’s busiest airports – Heathrow.

At every step of her journey, Andreea demonstrated commitment to efficiency and innovation, displaying drive and resilience.

Andreea started her career with British Airways, by joining the Heathrow Operations team as a Safety Operations Advisor, managing the airport’s ground aircraft damage portfolio. In this role, she analysed the ground damage events and implemented mitigation strategies which resulted in a significant reduction of repeat damage events.

Andreea progressed from Flight Planning Duty Manager to Global Air Traffic Operations Manager upon successful completion of the Graduate Programme. Today Andreea is accountable for the smooth delivery of the British Airways above and below-wing operation at Heathrow (c. 600 aircraft movements/day – over 50% of the total Heathrow slots).

Since her graduation in 2016, Andreea has maintained active links with the School of Science & Technology and the Professional Liaison Unit. Through her role of Campus Ambassador, she has promoted the British Airways’ graduate programmes and the business placement opportunities.

She also delivered numerous presentations to students at career events, sharing her professional experience, thus raising the students’ aspirations, pushing them to pursue their dreams.

Mr Linus Benjamin Bauer graduated in 2019, with an MSc in Air Transport Management. Founder and Managing Director of Bauer Aviation Advisory (BAA), a boutique consulting firm based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Launching a new boutique consulting firm (BAA) at the height of the pandemic did not faze Linus Benjamin Bauer – despite solid headwinds, challenges, and his disability (profoundly deaf). Linus is a firm believer in perseverance, resilience, and a passion for succeeding in challenging environments. Defying the odds and turning disabilities into abilities has been one of his life mottos to date.

As an experienced consultant, Linus argued that all the off-the-shelf solutions, which have been tried and tested before, do not have a future in the aviation industry post COVID-19. According to him, they are not explicitly tailored to the needs of the clients in the aviation industry, thus increasingly failing to meet the requirements of clients. He described the so-called one-size-fits-all model as a diminishing business model in the post-pandemic era.

With the help of industry heavyweights (e.g. former CEOs of airlines as advisory board members) and investors, Linus turned that challenge into an opportunity and established his boutique consulting firm with offices in Germany and the United Arab Emirates at an incredible speed.

Over the last two years, BAA’s global network of subject-matter experts and consultants has grown to 35, providing jobs to those who have lost their jobs during the pandemic. BAA’s combination of methodological, functional and industry expertise enabled BAA to add more value to clients and partners.

Previous colleagues, partners, and clients describe him as a thought leader, cosmopolitan and global team player with a high-level of cultural awareness and intercultural competence.

In 2019, he received the Outstanding Achievement Award in Air Transport Management from HH Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Linus has built a large network over the past few years. Today, he nurtures relationships with C-level executives and decision-makers in the aviation sector, HNWIs, Royal Family members, investors, and government officials - especially in the GCC region and Europe.