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| ANA and Tokai University Develop new Flight Training Course |
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| Japan’s first university degree with pilot training opens doors in April, 2006
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TOKYO June 21, 2005 - ANA and Tokai University of Kanagawa Prefecture, located outside Tokyo, have joined forces to create Japan’s first flight training course as part of a four year university bachelor’s degree. Both organisations are being supported in their efforts by the Civil Aviation College of Miyazaki Prefecture in southern Japan, which is an existing source of trained pilots. With the first intake planned for April 2006, students graduating from Tokai University’s Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics will qualify as pilots and have the advantage of gaining a bachelor’s degree at the same time. Talks are in place with the University of North Dakota, USA, for the provision of the flight training element of the course. An agreement is expected to be finalised soon, meaning that students will spend 14-16 months at the university’s John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences in order to qualify as pilots in the USA and Japan. “We are very pleased to work with Tokai University to provide an innovative new way to deal with the impending pilot shortage,” said ANA’s President and CEO, Mineo Yamamoto. “We can invest in the future of the young people of our country and at the same time provide another source of pilot training,” he continued. Underlining the partnership between the academic world and industry, ANA staff will give lectures as part of the course, and the company will also award scholarships with the provision that students join ANA upon graduation. “This is an exciting venture for Tokai University,” said President Tatsuro Matsumae. “By coming together with a champion of the aviation industry we can equip our students with the skills required by employers and provide them with a broader, quality education, befitting the goals of our university.” Students wishing to take the new degree course will have to pass entrance exams held in two parts from January to March, 2006. Existing undergraduates may also apply to transfer to the course, joining part way through; accordingly the first students could graduate as early as March 2009.
Tokai University North Dakota University ANA |
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