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From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja
The African Aviation and Aerospace University (AAAU), has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMET) to enrich the school’s curriculum as it kick starts Academic activities in September
The collaboration is expected to open up new avenues for knowledge exchange, research collaborations, and capacity building initiatives.
AAAU Registrar, Mr Mustapha Abdullahi, stated this while speaking to journalists during the signing of the MoU at the school take-off campus, Wednesday in Abuja.
He said the University’s faculty members and researchers would work closely with NiMet’s experts to enhance the school’s curriculum, incorporate cutting-edge meteorological insights into its training programs, and foster innovative research projects that address the evolving challenges faced by the aviation industry.
According to Abdullahi, ‘’Today marks a significant milestone in our collective pursuit of excellence in aviation and aerospace education, research, and development. The signing of this MoU represents a strong partnership between our two organizations, which share a common vision for the advancement of the aviation and aerospace sectors in Africa.
“This partnership will also facilitate the development of joint initiatives aimed at improving weather forecasting systems, enhancing climate change resilience, and promoting sustainable aviation practices across the continent. By leveraging our combined strengths and expertise, we aspire to contribute significantly to the advancement of aviation and aerospace in Africa, ultimately benefiting our nations and the global aviation community.
“As you are aware, we just got our approval. The presidential approval came in the first quarter of this year, NUC approval came in about three weeks ago. So, we are starting small with a very small capacity so that we can see the potential how we can grow further but certainly we are starting with not more than 100 students in the first year.”
He stated that the portal for admission and applications would open on Monday, July 10, and would be open for at least two weeks, with academic engagements beginning in September.
On his part, the Director-General of NIMET, Prof. Mansur Matazu said the establishment of the university was one of the Seven cardinal points of the aviation roadmap which the agency had been a part from the conceptualization up till date.
‘’The university is starting with B.Sc. in meteorology and also B.Sc. in aviation business but we intend to provide all our facilities. Whether its monitoring, analysis and also product generation, including user communication, we are open to the university.
‘’We are very close in terms of physical location and we are going to get all the students offering these courses exposed to the latest state of the art equipment and we will also be engaged in staff and students joint research and curriculum development, including facilitation, because most of our staff do acquire higher degrees. We have high numbers of professors and Ph.D. holders in NIMET. We will also serve as facilitators. So, it is a symbiotic relationship and we see this as our input based on our mandate especially on promoting the knowledge of weather and climate.’’ He stated.
