New Delhi: Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has added yet another top-end course to its bouquet of pioneering front line academic programmes.

Tying up with CIAL (Cochin International Airport Ltd) Academy, IGNOU now offers MBA and other courses in Aviation and Airport Infrastructure Technology and Management.

It was on September 25 that Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan dedicated the CIAL Academy to the nation.

The first batch of classes has also just begun. Built at a cost of around Rs.6 crore, CIAL Academy is situated close to the airport, opposite the state of the art Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility, which is fast nearing completion.

The programmes that are being offered include a two-year MBA programme, and a one-year Advanced Diploma Courses in: (a) Airport Operations Management, and, (b) Air Cargo Management; and six-month Certificate Courses in: (a) Airport Ramp Handling, (b) Rescue and Fire Fighting, and (c) Security and Intelligence.

Besides imparting knowledge in aviation management and aviation technology, CIAL Academy aims to become a centre of excellence and help promote professional and industry-oriented education by collaborating with specialized institutions.

Bubbling with enthusiasm was Jaya Paul, a graduate in Geography and a student of the first batch of the MBA programme, who aspires to be "the best manager in the aviation industry."

"I am delighted that I have made the right decision and joined the best place in the country to help transform my dreams into reality," said Paul

The academy is unique in many ways because the teaching faculty includes professionals purely from the aviation industry.

Over 90 percent of the faculty comes from within CIAL, experts who handle various departments of the airport.

T.S. Gopi, the Academy's Director, says, "There may be other institutes offering such courses, but they can only give theoretical exposure. The students here will, from Day One, have on-the-job classroom training and get the feel of working out of an airport."

CIAL Academy considered various options and felt that IGNOU was the best bet for more reasons than one. The most important --- as it aimed to offer top-line management programmes, it felt IGNOU had the requisite expertise.

Dr. K.S. Divakaran Nair, Regional Director of IGNOU in Kerala, said the university's role is crucial to the success of the courses.

"We monitor everything from the conduct of the entrance examination, to the interview and then the actual classes. Academic delivery is another area we monitor and we interact with students to find out about the quality of the lectures," said Nair, adding that IGNOU sets the question papers and evaluates them.

Gopi is also excited about opportunities on offer for students.

"A placement cell is being set up and we have already made contact with potential employers, including airports and airlines, even though hiring would happen only two years from now," he says.

All major Indian airports are evaluating capacity building.

"Over 35 new airports in non-metro cities have been given the green signal. By the time they are complete, no less than 500 professionals would be required to operate them. And this is where our students would win hands down because they will already be exposed to all facets of an airport's functions," says Gopi.

A.C.K. Nair, Airport Director, CIAL, who has close to two decades experience of working in various airports in the country, says that trained and qualified man-power is a lacunae when it comes to airport operations and that the new academy will produce quality professionals.

"The structure of the academy has been well defined and we have a seven-member academic council consisting of IGNOU officials, CIAL officials and experts. Besides, we have a Board of Studies for each course that we offer. The examinations will be conducted by IGNOU," says CIAL's Nair.

"There is no doubt that the quality of teaching would be the best anyone can offer because we have selected the cream from the airport here. Only 10 per cent of the faculty would be drawn from outside the aviation industry and they would handle non-aviation subjects," the CIAL official adds.

Another major advantage that CIAL Academy offers is that the entire project work would be carried out within the airport itself.

This was one factor which attracted 34-year-old Joemon Varghese, a Chemical Engineer by profession, who quit his job in the U.S. to enroll in the first batch of the MBA programme at the academy.

"It was way back in 2000 when I reached the crowded Paris airport that I felt that the aviation industry certainly lacks top professionals."

"I thought, why not look for a management career in the aviation industry. In the United States, I lived near Miami airport, something that fuelled my passion for airports. Acquiring a management degree in aviation thus became my dream," says Varghese.

"While in the United States, I looked at various options for a professional career in aviation. Soon I heard that this academy, located close to my hometown, was being launched and I decided that my wait was over. I lost no time in taking the written and other tests," Varghese adds.

The students sit in smart classrooms with facilities that match those of any international educational institute.

In view of the academy's potential, the Kerala Government has recently allotted an additional five acres of land on the highway even as more infrastructure plans are being worked out for the academy.

"We know quite well that we cannot relax just yet though we do not have any competition at the moment. We know very well that other airports will build on our idea. But by then we would like to reach a position few can match in terms of the quality of the courses we would offer," says Nair.

In 1999, CIAL created history when it became the first green-field airport in India formed under the public-private partnership mode.

It is India's fourth-busiest airport and hosts 10 domestic and 16 international airlines. Last fiscal, a record 3.5 million passenger used the airport.

The courses include a two-year MBA programme; a one-year Advanced Diploma Course in:
(a) airport operations management and (b) air cargo management; and a six-month certificate course in (a) airport ramp handling, (b) rescue and fire fighting, (c) security and intelligence.

The topics include airport operations management, airport support services and facilities, airport financial management, air traffic management and control systems and international airports, airlines and carrier operations management.

The beauty of this programme is that from Semester III onwards those opting to specialise in aviation business management will get to study in depth the entire range of an airport's functions.

The number of seats for the MBA programme is 60. For the Diploma course it is limited to 30 seats each while for the Certificate course there are 30 seats each.

The four-semester MBA programme will cost Rs.2.40 lakh while the two-semester Diploma course will cost Rs.1 lakh and the six-month Certificate course Rs.20,000.