The topic for the 2022 USAIRE Student Awards was about the evolving modes of cooperation between public authorities and industry in aerospace and defense. The jury noted that this subject was very ambitious and required extensive documentation, a strong sense of perspective, and an excellent knowledge of the role of the State. These prerequisites are not always easy to meet for a 4th or 5th-year student. Consequently, some finalists turn away from the subject to focus on hot trends such as environmental transition and artificial intelligence. Therefore, the jury particularly rewarded essays that fully confronted this challenging topic. In the end, this led the jury to select a top 5 whose essays stood out quite clearly, but very close together.

Obviously, the subject invited finalists to examine the evolution of the Space sector due to the advent of NewSpace, or to draw lessons from evolutions of the relationships between States and industries in other sectors. The Space sector was generally well identified as a relevant area of focus by the finalists, with some even choosing to only deal with it. Since the subject was broad, it provided an opportunity for the finalists to deliberately narrow it in their essay. The jury appreciated such a choice as long as it was well-handled, but regretted that it was too rarely announced and explicitly assumed by the finalists.

In general, it is essential to point out that the efforts made by the finalists to produce an essay with excellent syntax, writing, vocabulary, layout, structure, and bibliography were systematically rewarded by the jury.