Proposal for a EU quality label for aerospace education

Journal Article (2018)
Author(s)

Franco Bernelli-Zazzera (Politecnico di Milano)

Maria Angeles Martin-Prats (University of Seville)

Francesco Marulo (Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II)

Daniel Hanus (Czech Technical University)

Joris Melkert (TU Delft - Flight Performance and Propulsion)

Giorgio Guglieri (Politecnico di Torino)

Pascal Bauer (ISAE-ENSMA-Institut Pprime-Dept “Fluides)

Irene Pantelaki (EASN TIS)

Iring Wasser (ASIIN e.V.)

Herman Deconinck (von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics)

Ruxandra Bosilca (INCAS)

Hanna Kaisa Saari (Aerospace Valley 118 route de Narbonne)

Research Group
Flight Performance and Propulsion
DOI related publication
https://doi.org/10.13111/2066-8201.2018.10.2.2
More Info
expand_more
Publication Year
2018
Language
English
Research Group
Flight Performance and Propulsion
Issue number
2
Volume number
10
Pages (from-to)
5-16
Downloads counter
221
Collections
Institutional Repository
Reuse Rights

Other than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download, forward or distribute the text or part of it, without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license such as Creative Commons.

Abstract

The paper presents a possible roadmap for the definition of a European quality label for aerospace related higher education degrees. The proposal is the result of a two-years long Horizon 2020 project that has involved a great portion of the European stakeholders in aerospace: Universities, research centres, industries (both small and large) networks, associations and accreditation agencies. The core concept established is that it is possible to establish a sector-specific, content based, quality system, that can complement the existing national or European accreditation systems, providing added value to the internal and/or external quality assurance processes that are in place in most EU countries. The tools and processes proposed are sufficiently simple to be manageable by Universities in addition to their national accreditation processes or as stand-alone assessment. The main goal of the proposed process is the evaluation of the quality of the aerospace curricula in the European context, whereas the accreditation of the programme can be seen as an optional extension of the process, subject to further national regulations. The process is proposed in view of the awarding of a sector-specific, content based, quality label, to be issued by an appropriate legally recognized and qualified institution. 8 field tests with volunteering universities throughout Europe have been performed. They experienced the method as very practical and to the point.