Course description
Course overview
This course is for those working in the air transport industry with ambitions to move into positions of responsibility and management.
Students whose backgrounds are accepted include aircrew, air traffic controllers, engineers and ground-based staff. The lecturers include many leading experts in their relevant fields.
Many students have demonstrated career progression either within their own organisations or by moving to new opportunities. Over 80 per cent of graduates maintain contact with news of their career developments.
Course content
The course consists of a number of independent modules, each of which runs over three days. All students must attend and pass one module (free of charge) as an introduction before they are accepted onto the course. To qualify for an MSc, a student needs to complete a further eight taught modules and successfully complete a major project of relevance to their future career. Students who complete the taught part of the course only can be awarded a Postgraduate Diploma (intro module + 8 more) or a Postgraduate Certificate (intro module + 4 more).
Core Modules
* Airline Operations
* Marketing
* Human Resource Management
* Air Transport Economics
* Airline Business (to be taken late in course)
* Financial Accounting
* Quality Assurance in Airline Management
* Law and Negotiation
* Crisis Management
* Fleet Planning
Elective Modules
* Airworthiness and Maintenance
* Psychology in Aviation Management
* Airports and Ground Handling
* Developing a Business Plan
* Leaderships in Organisations
* Airline Revenue Management and Finance
* Review of Quality, Safety and Aviation Business
* Safety by Design
* Active Safety Management
* Airline Maintenance
* Engineering Maintenance Systems
* Accident and Incident Investigation
The course was initiated by the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators and parallels the Master’s in Air Safety Management, having identical academic structure and common modules.
Teaching and assessment
Teaching
Every taught module is assessed by coursework and, for some core modules, also by examination. A dissertation related to experience in the industry is required. There is a high degree of flexibility in terms of sequence and time frame, to suit those working in airlines, air traffic control, air forces and other organisations.
Learning Outcomes
This course aims to provide you with a recognised career-developing qualification, control of your own career and the ability to contribute better to the management of air transport?
The course is totally flexible and can be taken while working – modules are held in central London plus a number of modules in Dubai and Troisdorf (near Cologne).
At the end of your studies you will have the opportunity to improve your:
* Presentation skills – through regular opportunities within each module and the project
* Report writing and analytical skills – through coursework and project
* Personal management skills – through the careful use of resources to complete assignments on time
The successful MSc graduate from this course will have on completion:
* a basic understanding of business analysis, finance, human motivation, and management of the air transport industry;
* a good understanding for the national and international regulatory and commercial business environment and be able to prepare a sound business case
* knowledge of aspects of fleet planning, route management, engineering and Air Traffic Management issues.
* A proven ability to write a substantial analytical report.
For the employers, the course has the core objective of improving the contributions that experienced professionals (aircrew, engineers, air traffic controllers etc) can make to their organisations. They were initiated by the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators (GAPAN) both to increase the career opportunities of aircrew and others and to ensure that the air transport industry has a reservoir of experienced talent from which to draw future managers.
The Programmes provide an academic framework to the experience of air transport professionals and enable them to move productively and effectively onto the first steps of commercial or safety management.
The course has many facets of knowledge and skills learning. The knowledge base is best illustrated by the list of modules. However, as important are the skills that graduates are expected to have on completion. These include:
* Being able to assimilate core themes from the talks given by a number of industry speakers, some of whom may have different positions.
* Being able to write succinct and clear English.
* Preparing a valid business case for a company and, at least as important, to know when a potential case is not viable.
* Having a wider knowledge of the interfaces of any single organisation with other in the industry.
* Being able to make a short verbal presentation and to defend a project under examination.
The average age of students of the programme is about early to mid thirties, though there are a number who are over fifty.
Given the likely continuation of the large number of unexpected events that have happened to the industry over the last few years combined with increased competition (eg low cost carriers, flat-bed seats) and technological and regulatory changes (EASA, e-tickets, electronic flight bags), every organisation needs a core of capable management to ensure continued prosperity. That is why some of the most successful air transport organisations now fund students on the City University Programmes.
Assessment
Every taught module is assessed by coursework and, for some core modules, also by examination.
Each module comprises:
* Part I: Prior reading before the module where appropriate.
* Part II: Attendance at the University (or other locations) for the module, three days.
* Part III: Examinations are held at the end of the core modules.
* Part IV: Coursework for assessment. Coursework is required within six weeks of the taught module.
