10 years of the dual program in Aviation Management

On October 13, 2016, more than 200 guests celebrated the ten-year anniversary of the dual program in Aviation Management in the House of Logistics and Mobility (HOLM), which was attended by representatives of the cooperation partners and the university administration as well as alumni.

President Prof. Dr. Frank E.P. In his speech, Dievernich honored the special significance of the program for the university. "When it started 10 years ago, it was an innovation for this university in collaboration with its partners in the profession and it still stands for the future-oriented and application-related orientation of this university."

During the first hour, a panel consisting of the originators of the idea and the first individuals responsible for the program focused on the start-up phase. The university was represented on the panel by the president at the time, Prof. Dr. Wolf Rieck, and the start-up program director Prof. Dr. Wagschal, who once more emphasized the trailblazing role of the program for the university. Michael Müller (Labor Director of the Fraport AG) and Wolfgang Scherer (Director of Training and Continuing Education of the Fraport AG at the time) related how the idea turned into an exemplary dual program model from the business perspective. Michael Kerkloh (CEO of the Flughafen München GmbH) and Otto Fischer (Director Academy, DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH) confirmed that this idea had in the meantime developed into a success story and that the graduates of the program impress companies in the private sector with their unique qualification profile which does not exist on the market elsewhere.

The topic of the second panel addressed the issue of what has become of the students who graduated from the program during the first few years after its inception. Four former students, who had started their program in 2006 to 2008. reminisced about their time in the program and their professional careers. Lisa Heyl became aware of the program through an ad in the "STARTfrei" magazine, which is published for cities and municipalities surrounding the airport. Today, she is responsible for the holdings of Fraport in China and Hong-Kong in the area of Asset Management. For Martin Augustin (Director of Processes, Terminal 2 Society) "the program was the ideal way to enter into the world of airports" (…), since the practical experience gave students the opportunity to get to know many different areas of the airport and to find out what areas they liked." Marcel Sobottka now works as Senior Manager for Funding and SESAR Deployment at the DFS and still remembers the General Module, which he only learned to fully appreciate after completing his studies. All participants agreed that the program was very helpful in helping them understand the complex "system of aviation" and that they are still profiting from it in their everyday working lives. Graduate Maximilian Pietrek (Director of Airport Security at the Cologne/Bonn airport) remembers how "the very intensive communication with the teachers and the small group sizes created the ideal learning environment and experience, which I am glad I did not miss out on."

The celebration was accompanied by musical intermezzos by current and former students.

The Program Director Prof. Dr. K. Zimmer summarized the 10-year anniversary celebration: "The evening and the incredibly positive resonance at this event showed how closely this program is connected to the industry and the kind of network it profits from. It is hard to imagine better appreciation for this program."