Frankfurt UAS founds „Institute for Aviation and Tourism“ – New institute shall give support to industry in crisis
In the winter semester 2020/21, Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences (Frankfurt UAS) has founded the "Institute for Aviation and Tourism" (IAT). "We would like to use the expertise of Frankfurt UAS in the field of aviation and tourism management, which has been accumulated over many years as well as our passion for both industries in order to establish a practice-oriented, scientific institute. Often, times of crisis lead to the best ideas and it is in keeping with this motto that the focus will initially be on the strategic realignment of the aviation and tourism industry with a view to the Corona pandemic," explains Prof. Dr. Yvonne Ziegler, Professor of Business Administration with a special focus on International Aviation Management and Deputy Chairwoman of the IAT. On November 20, 2020 the constituting general meeting took place.
The work of the IAT is based on five main activities: Research, further education, implementation management, interdisciplinary networks as well as public relations and transfer. The five pillars are Customer Journey, Sustainability, Digitalization, Trends & Market Research and Air Cargo. The vision of the IAT is to become the first scientific address in Germany for analyses on the current strategic reorientation of aviation and tourism. New business models, a new industry awareness as well as optimized processes and technologies are examined for this purpose.
"With the founding of the institute, our university is turning its gaze forward and giving tailwind to one of the industries most affected by the Corona crisis," emphasizes the President of Frankfurt UAS, Prof. Dr. Frank E.P. Dievernich, and predicts: "There will be a time after Corona when we can resume traveling. However, it will and must be different than in previous years. Beyond the pandemic, the much bigger problem is climate change. This must not be forgotten. Our goal is to play a pioneering role in the development of sustainable, environmentally friendly and at the same time future-oriented digital approaches with the new, practice-oriented research institute IAT".
Frankfurt UAS has already carried out over 100 practical projects with more than 40 partner companies in the aviation and tourism industry. The university offers the following study programs in this field: Aviation Management (B.A.), Tourism Management (B.A.), Aviation and Tourism Management (MBA) and Global Logistics (M.Sc.). The core team of the IAT has extensive expertise from many years of work in leading companies in the aviation and tourism industry. The founding team includes Prof. Dr. Karsten Benz, Head of the Aviation Management program; Prof. Dr. Karl-Rudolf Rupprecht, Chairman Board of Directors at IAT and Head of the Aviation and Tourism Management program; Prof. Dr. Kerstin Wegener, Deputy Head of the Tourism Management program; Manuel Wehner, M.Sc., Project Manager IAT founding; Prof. Dr. Yvonne Ziegler, Professor for International Aviation Management, and Prof. Dr. Kirstin Zimmer, Deputy Head of the Aviation Management program.
Further information about the institute: www.frankfurt-university.de/iat.