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Embry-Riddle
Expands Global Reach to Barcelona,
Spain
Daytona Beach,
Fla.. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
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Worldwide is
expanding its global enterprise to include a new
partnership with
the Universitat
Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB), a major university
with over
50,000 students
in Barcelona, Spain. Faculty from both universities
will jointly
develop and
deliver a master's degree in aeronautical
management designed
to address the
expanding aviation and aerospace industry in Spain
and the
rest of the
European Union.
The joint
curriculum will be patterned after the existing
master of aeronautical
science degree
at Embry-Riddle. Current plans call for the
curriculum to be
submitted to the
Catalan government by September 2007 for approval.
The
degree is
scheduled to begin in September 2008. Each
university will teach
half of the
prescribed curriculum with a single diploma
carrying both university
seals being
awarded to graduates of the program.
Home to a
comprehensive aviation marketplace with four
airports, the city of
Barcelona in the
autonomous community of Catalonia is a major
international
cultural center
and one of the most economically robust regions
of
Spain. "We are
privileged to work in partnership with the
Universitat
Autonoma de
Barcelona," said Marty Smith, chancellor of
Embry-Riddle's
Worldwide
campus. "This program will be a key component in
addressing the
educational and
aviation needs of Catalonia and Spain as their
aviation
industry
continues to expand at such a rapid pace, while
concurrently
transitioning
from the Joint Aviation Authority to the European
Aviation
Safety
Agency."
"The commitment
of UAB in fostering a new degree in
aeronautical
management is
founded on strong interaction between the
aeronautical
sector and our
international partnership," said Lluis Ferrer,
rector of UAB, in
the meeting with
the Embry-Riddle delegation. "In such a vision,
the
agreements with
Embry-Riddle will strategically position UAB as a
catalyst
establishing
high-quality, internationally recognized
educational programs in a
short
timeframe."
"After the new
degree launches in September 2008, the universities
intend to
continue their
momentum by developing an Institute of Aviation
Management
to act as a
think tank to advise and direct the growing
aviation and
aerospace
industry in Spain and Southern Europe," according
to Dr. John R.
Watret,
vice-chancellor for academic affairs for
Embry-Riddle Worldwide.
"We are very
pleased to extend our partnership with UAB for the
specific
development of
this joint degree and the institute. This will
establish Embry-
Riddle's
presence in Spain and Southern Europe and extend
opportunities to
the rest of the
European Union," said Dr. Karen Shehi, assistant
chancellor of
global strategy
and international relations for Embry-Riddle
Worldwide, who
accompanied
Smith and Watret on the trip to finalize the
agreement. "As the
leading edge of
Embry-Riddle's commitment to invest in global
development
and expansion,
the Worldwide campus is also working on
opportunities in
China, Brazil,
Germany, Canada, the Middle East, and in other
Asian
countries,"
noted Shehi.
As a major
public university, the UAB is committed to
implementing new forms
of teaching,
training, and research dedicated to serving the
society in which
it is embedded.
To that end, the UAB chose to offer a new degree
in
aeronautical
management in order to educate decision-making
professionals in
the air
transport field in making high-level, strategic
management decisions,
as in aircraft
maintenance and routing policies, and in making
low-level
operational
decisions, such as handling and balancing the goods
in an aircraft.
The Universitat
Autonoma de Barcelona is a dynamic and modern
public
institution,
with an active policy of internationalization,
dedicated to
research,
teaching, and service to the community. The most
important part
of the UAB is
its university community: 2,900 teachers, 1,300
administrative
and service
staff, 40,360 first- and second-cycle students, and
11,290
doctoral and
post-graduate students. The university's unique and
progressive
style allows the
active participation of all groups in its governing
bodies,
associations,
teaching, research, and cultural
activities.
Embry-Riddle
Worldwide began in 1970 as a branch of the Daytona
Beach
Campus at Ft.
Rucker, Alabama, with 20 students, primarily
military working
adults. Since
then, the program has become one of the largest
off-campus,
regionally
accredited colleges in the United States, with over
45,000 alumni.
The Worldwide
organization educates more than 27,000 students
through
classroom,
online, or hybrid undergraduate and graduate degree
and
certificate
programs.
Embry-Riddle
Aeronautical University, the world's largest, fully
accredited
university
specializing in aviation and aerospace, offers more
than 30 degree
programs in its
colleges of Arts and Sciences, Aviation, Business,
and
Engineering. The
university educates more than 32,000 students
annually in
undergraduate
and graduate programs at residential campuses in
Prescott,
Ariz., Daytona
Beach, Fla., and Worldwide at more than 130 centers
in the
United States,
Canada, Europe, and the Middle East, and through
online
learning.
For more
information, contact Lindajean Western at (386)
226-7591 or
lindajean.western@erau.edu.
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