Dubai 2007: Preparing to fly
Several organisations are rushing to meet the urgent – and growing – demands for pilots and other aviation professionals in the Middle East and Asia
The cramped open-plan office at Dubai’s Higher College of Technology may not look much like an august learning institution in its own right. But it is from here that Dubai Aerospace Enterprise University plans to expand from its current crop of 21 bachelors students and 37 staff to become one of the world’s leading aviation academies by early next decade.
DAE University – one of the would-be aerospace giant’s six divisions – opened its doors to its first students two months ago. Its initial four-year course in aviation business, which includes a final year training to be an airline pilot, is being taught at the current facilities until a purpose-built campus opens at Dubai World Central around 2011.