The Federal Government has announced plans to establish a Pan African Aviation and Aerospace University in Nigeria. This was announced by the Minister of aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika at the maiden matriculation ceremony of the Metrological Institute of Science and Technology, Katsina.
The African Aviation University when established will be the first in Africa and would enhance capacity building within the Aviation and Aerospace Management Sub-sector so as to meet up with local and regional demands.
The University is aimed at producing world class graduates that will become experts in Aviation and Aerospace sciences to service the increasing demands for pilots and metrological professionals in Nigeria and the rest of the African continent.
He said, establishing the University is part of the ongoing reforms in the aviation sector which are aimed at making Nigeria a center of excellence in Aviation and Aerospace Management in Africa and to reduce the loss of revenue to foreign institutions and improve the overall competence in the Aviation and Aerospace Industry.
The African Aviation and Aerospace University is going to be sited in Abuja in partnership with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and some ICAO member countries especially within the continent of Africa.
“The University will mainly focus on research and development in the Aerospace and Aviation Technology”
Senator Hadi Sidika urged the matriculated students of the Metrological Institute of Science and Technology to remain focused in the pursuit of academic excellence and appealed to the Katsina state Government to allocate additional plots of land to the Institute to enable it construct more learning facilities
“They should focus more and study hard to understand metrology and become experts and reach out to their colleagues in other institutions so as to broaden their Knowledge.”
In a speech, the director general of the Nigerian Metrological Agency (NiMET), Professor Mansur Bako Matazu said the establishment of the Metrological Institute of Science and Technology will go a long way in boasting manpower to meet the emerging challenges and drive the needed growth in the Metrological sub sector.
He noted that the Institute program was designed to offer short term specialized courses and refresher activities to build capacity in the sector particularly in addressing the challenges of Climate Change and its influence on the environment and livelihood.
The Registrar of the Metrological Institute of Science and Technology in Katsina, Dr. Bishir Gambo said that the 114 students that were matriculated are the first set of intake by the Institution for diploma courses.
Dr. Gambo further stated that the Institution is still young as it was established in 2019 and will continue to expand its curriculum structure and academic programs to meet the needs for capacity building in the Metrological and Aerospace sector.