DCU BSc in Aviation Management (with Pilot Studies) students graduate as cadet pilots

A gala dinner was held at the Hotel Sherry Park in Jerez, Spain on Friday the 1st of August, celebrating the graduation of 17 cadet pilots who completed the Flight Training Europe (FTE) Airline First Office Programme.

This year, for the first time, the FTE Jerez graduates included 2 DCU students who e completed their flight training. Cadets Sam Halpenny and Hosam Karim have both undertaken their flight training as part of the DCU's BSc in Aviation Management (with Pilot Studies) degree. Sam and Hosam joined the inaugural class on the DCU aviation programme in September 2010 and will graduate with their Aviation Management classmates from DCU later this year.

The FTE Jerez Airline First Officer Programme is a 15 month residential, integrated course taking students with little or no previous flying experience to the beginning of a career as an airline pilot. DCU chose FTE Jerez as one of its approved flight training providers in 2012.

Commenting on this achievement, Programme Director Dr PJ Byrne said "This is another important milestone for the development of aviation education in Ireland and beyond. Sam and Hosam are DCU's first two cadet pilots; they have now successfully completed the four year BSc in Aviation Management (with Pilot Studies) having already completed three years of Aviation Management education and placements in DCU prior to undertaking their flight training in Jerez. We are delighted to be working with FTE Jerez, who have also recently graduated pilot cadets for two other Irish based airlines, Aer Lingus and City Jet."

He continued: "Prior to the advent of this degree programme in DCU, the specialist aviation management skills for both aviation operations and pilot training were under- resourced from an academic perspective in Ireland. Before this programme, people were recruited from a range of different disciplines with no specialised academic provision from any Irish institution. The DCU BSc in Aviation Management (with Pilot Studies) degree was introduced to address this need, providing students with specialist aviation knowledge across a wide range of areas. We are now beginning to see the success of this approach and the BSc in Aviation Management (with Pilot Studies) degree was recently awarded the Overall Aviation Academic Education Award in the inaugural Irish Aviation Industry Awards"