Concordia University of Canada has decided to set up an aviation-focussed university in India’s first aerospace special economic zone, coming up in Andhra Pradesh.Officials hope that the university would start offering programmes next year while the campus would come up in 2010.

The proposed International Civil Aviation University (ICAU) will be developed as a centre of excellence with sister campuses in Montreal (Canada) and Toulouse (France).
Dale Doreen, executive director of the International Centre for Aviation Management Education and Research at John Molson School of Business, Concordia University, told IANS they were looking for Indian partners for the university.

The university, which is looking for local investors for this $40-50 million project, expects that 10,000 students would enroll for its various programmes after a few years.

The foundation stone for the aerospace SEZ was laid Wednesday at India Aviation-2008, India’s first conference and exhibition on civil aviation.

The university plans to offer undergraduate and graduate training programmes in engineering and management. Initial programmes proposed include BSc Mechanical Engineering, MSc Aeronautical Engineering, BSc Aviation Management, Msc Air Transport Management and Aviation MBA.

The university will span across three campus locations - Hyderabad, Montreal (Canada) and Toulouse (France) - bringing together significant industry players in the aerospace market.

“State-of-the-art electronic communications will link ICAU with its sister campuses to foster exchange and attract international students. There will be training programmes and joint classes to give Indian aviation industry a global perspective,” Doreen said.

16/10/08 IANS/Thaindian.com, Thailand

Air Hostess Academy (AHA), the New Delhi-based institute that grooms aspirants for the aviation and hospitality sectors, plans to mark its international debut soon.



The company is looking to open centres in Sydney, Australia and London, United Kingdom. Besides, it is also keen to augment its presence in the country, by setting-up centres in cities like Lucknow, Hyderabad, Shillong, Bhopal, Nasik, Coimbatore, Bhubneshwar and Ranchi, among others.


Currently, the company has 31 centres, of which 15 are owned and managed by AHA, while the rest are franchisees. The company aims to have 50 centres across India.


18/11/07 Shayan Mallick/TravelBizMonitor

The GMR group, with three airports under its sway, is entering the fastest growing area of aviation training with an investment of Rs 450 crore.

GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL), 63 per cent controlled by GMR, has entered into a joint venture with Brussels (Belgium)-based Sabena Flight Academy (SFA) to set up a modern aviation academy at Hyderabad.



The new company to impart training for pilots and cabin crew will be operational at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport by January 2009.

The academy will also provide training for aircraft engineers, technicians, aviation consultants, airport operations staff and ramp services agents.

Lalatendu Mishra/Hindustan Times

As long-term measures to meet the shortage of pilots, the Cabinet today gave its approval for management contract agreement of the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademy (IGRUA) with CAE Inc., Canada.

The management contract agreement will now be signed at the earliest. This will enable the taking over of management of IGRUA by CAE Inc. Canada for better management of the Academy in a more professional manner in order to produce 100 pilots per year



The Government has also approved the formation of the subsidiary company of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) for establishing a flying and aviation training institute at Gondia in Maharashtra as a joint venture enterprise with CAE Inc. Canada.

The company will now be registered very soon. This company will establish a flying and training institute, which will help in meeting the growing requirements of pilots and technical manpower relating to the aviation industry.

Hyderabad-based Sreenidhi Institute of Science and Technology (Snist) has entered into an agreement with Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology to offer four-year degree courses in electronics engineering technology (avionics), airline management and airport management in India. The programmes will be offered at Snist's Institute of Aeronautics & Technology here.


"Students will have the option of completing their degrees at Snist or Vaughn in New York. The course fee is Rs 1.5 lakh per annum, as against $25,000 in the US. The programme has been approved by the All India Council for Technical Education," the Snist director, P Narasimha Reddy, said, adding that the Snist Aeronautics Institute was the first dedicated college to serve the country's aviation industry.

The admission to the three courses would be based on the marks scored in the All India Engineering Entrance Examination (AIEEE).

The Snist founder, KT Mahi, said courses would commence from the current academic year.
03/10/07 Business Standard

Avalon Aviation Academy, the aviation training wing of Aptech Limited, the Global Learning Solutions Company, has announced the launch of new centres across Delhi and NCR.

To cater to the needs of aspirants for world-class quality aviation training, Avalon Aviation Academy, has launched centres in South Extension and Rajouri Garden, besides its already existing centre at Gurgaon. The institute is also coming up with two more centres in Kamla Nagar and Ghaziabad.



“Aviation has become one of the most sought after career options these days. To cater to the growing demand of the students, we are launching these centres in different locations all over the city. All centres are easily accessible to the student community residing in the various parts of Delhi and NCR,” informs Ms. Preeti Malik, Head - Avalon Aviation Academy.

The centre at South Extension will cater to students of South Delhi, Kamla Nagar centre for North Delhi and the University students, Rajouri Garden for West Delhi, Ghaziabad (UP) and Gurgaon (Haryana) for students staying in East Delhi and NCR.

14/09/07 India PRwire (Press Release)