BRUSSELS AIRLINES ENGAGES WITH UNIVERSITY STUDENTS
(Posted 23rd November 2013)
Brussels Airlines’ management team, led by Country Manager Benjamin Puissant and accompanied by several of his key staff, yesterday met with students at Uganda’s main university of Makerere in Kampala. Following a presentation by Brussels Airlines, about the company and their commitment to Uganda from the days of predecessor company SABENA, did an open discussion ensue and the entire topic of aviation was exhaustively discussed.
Uganda’s universities are not at present offering substantive aviation courses at degree level and other tertiary institutions too are not offering certificate or diploma courses other than on a very rudimentary level, which leaves in depth knowledge about aviation mostly to those who work in the industry but not on the level of students wanting to actually pursue a career in aviation.
Growing traffic in and out of Uganda by air has in recent years resulted in additional job opportunities with the leading local, regional and international airlines flying to Entebbe and successful applicants are then regularly given additional on the job training, often at the respective airlines’ headquarters, or as regularly seen at special workshops and sessions in the region covering several stations within easy reach.
While this engagement with students is most commendable, it has however also been noted that the local media are often entirely clueless when reporting on aviation matters and as a result often get not only their facts wrong but also fail to interpret events incorrectly, as do incidentally their equally clueless editors, demonstrating the need for airlines to ‘educate’ the media too. Watch this space.
