New generation of aircraft engineers take off with £1.5m Aerospace Centre

A new generation of aircraft engineers will be able to learn their trade on a real airliner without leaving their campus with the opening of a £1.5m Aerospace Centre, the only one of its kind at a Welsh university, at the University of Glamorgan in South Wales.

The facility, complete with a full-size airliner, flight simulator, wind tunnel and engine, was opened by Welsh Government Education and Skills Minister Leighton Andrews and Adrian Button, Managing Director of General Electric’s GE Aviation Wales, based nearby at Nantgarw. The aircraft, a full-size JetStream 31, has been delivered from the Netherlands.

Speaking at the opening, Leighton Andrews AM said: “The new Aerospace Centre at the University of Glamorgan is a magnificent achievement and a great example of industry and education working together in partnership. This centre, with its state of the art facilities, will play a pivotal role in preparing students for the world of work. It will develop their skills for industry and increase their employability; it also supports the aerospace industry which is a key sector in the Welsh economy.”

GE Aviation Wales Managing Director Adrian Button said: “As a graduate of the University myself, I know how seriously Glamorgan takes its partnership with industry. Aerospace engineering is a key sector for both Wales and the UK economy, with major employers such as GE demanding the very highest level of skill and training. As aerospace companies we work with universities to equip our workforce and their graduates with the experience and capabilities they need in this most high-tech of environments. Here in Nantgarw we have a close relationship with the University of Glamorgan, and I am delighted to see the investment Glamorgan is putting into its aircraft engineers. It bodes well both for the future of the University and Wales’s growing aerospace industry.”

Aircraft maintenance degree courses require students to undertake workshop training on specific aircraft. The practical experience with a real commercial aircraft is a requirement of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) for the process of qualifying licensed aircraft maintenance engineers.
Julie Lydon, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Glamorgan, said: “This is the first facility of its kind at any university in Wales and is an exciting development for Glamorgan. The aircraft maintenance course is extremely popular with prospective students and this impressive new facility will ensure that we are the first choice for students wanting to study in this area. The event today demonstrates the valuable partnership work between industry, Welsh universities, and the Welsh Government as we grow the innovative skills of our young people and high-value sectors of the Welsh and UK economy.”

The University of Glamorgan, rated in May 2011 as the Guardian’s top Welsh “new” university, is undergoing a £130m investment in new teaching and student facilities. The state-of-the-art energy efficient building was designed and project-managed by a team headed by Professor Demetrios Djialli, Director of the Centre for Engineering Research and Environmental Applications (CEREA), based in the University’s Faculty of Advanced Technology.

Further news from University of Glamorgan here