The sky is the limit as job prospects in aviation soar
- With China tipped to become the world’s largest civil aviation market within five years, HKUST can help supply aeronautical engineers
When it comes to masters’ degrees that open up new career opportunities, few do so better than the newly introduced Master of Science in Aeronautical Engineering (MScAE) at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST).
According to professor David Lam, MScAE programme director and professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, demand for engineering talent in the aviation industry is at an all-time high, especially in the Greater China region. “The growth of aviation in China is driving the need for talent in the aviation industry,” Lam says. “Aeronautical engineering is in a high growth phase driven by the need for talent in Hong Kong for the third runway and the strong growth in China.”
The programme, first established in 2016, is offered in partnership with French aviation university Ecole Nationale de l’Aviation Civile (ENAC), currently Europe’s largest aeronautical university.
“ENAC has great pre-eminence in the aviation industry,” Lam says. “Its graduates dominate the aviation industry both in terms of government jobs, and in major European airline companies like Airbus, which is sponsored by the French government.”
Lam says HKUST’s partnership with ENAC makes the MScAE one of the most well respected aeronautical engineering degrees in Asia – as it has a well-balanced blend of Eastern and Western teaching philosophies.
“The programme is Asian-based, industry-oriented, with a selection of courses taught by senior industrial professionals, with a European flavour thanks to our partnership with ENAC,” he says.
“The programme aims to equip those who want to enter the aeronautical engineering profession, or to enhance the knowledge of those who have already been working in the aeronautical field.”
The MScAE is also a great option for students who have studied aeronautical engineering or something similar at the undergraduate level as it “complements the existing undergraduate and graduate curricula in mechanical and aerospace engineering, allowing students to get an exposure to the various core aspects of aeronautical engineering and how they are used in the real world”.
In addition, the career opportunities afforded by the MScAE go far beyond the construction and maintenance of aeroplanes. According to Lam, the career prospects of the aeronautical engineering industry can be broken up into six categories, each of which has multiple nested subcategories.
These categories include: aviation infrastructure & management (airport, air traffic management); aviation services (fuel service systems, ramp handling, security); maintenance suppliers (line maintenance, ground support equipment maintenance; airlines (passengers, cargo); passenger (global distribution system, travel agencies) and cargo (freight forwarders, cargo integrators).
“Graduates of the MScAE programme have rich career choices in aviation,” Lam says. “HKUST is also well regarded by the industry as seen in our consistently high ranking in employability, which was number one in Greater China and 16th globally. Our graduates are also sought after by industries in non-aviation sectors because of the excellent blend of courses from industry, European partners, and practise training through projects.
That said, there is no better time than now to enter the aviation industry in China, which is already a powerhouse and growing at breakneck pace.
“China is becoming the key influencer of the global civil aviation industry,” Alexandre de Juniac, CEO and director general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said in a recent interview with Xinhua. “And China’s civil aviation authorities is the key dynamic force in powering the global civil aviation industry.”
He went on to explain that China is currently the world’s second largest civil aviation market, and that IATA forecasts that it will become the world’s largest civil aviation market by 2024-25.
“The global civil aviation market has shown an apparent eastward shift to Asia, with China being the major impetus,” De Juniac said, noting that China has more members of IATA than any other nation.
“And IATA is shifting our focus to the surging market here. The country’s civil aviation industry handled 610 million passenger trips in 2018, representing an 11.4 per cent year-on-year increase,” he adds.
Moreover, Randy Tinseth, vice-president of marketing for American aviation giant Boeing Commercial Airplanes, says Chinese airlines will spend nearly US$1.1 trillion to buy 7,240 new aeroplanes by 2037.
“The world’s most important market both today, and in the future, is the domestic China market,” Tinseth says, adding that China’s market size can accommodate both domestic and international competitors. “The entire size of the single aisle market is approach 30,000 aircraft – that’s big enough for Boeing to grow, it’s big enough for Airbus to grow, and it’s big enough for a third competitor.”
Despite the fact that the aviation industry is booming, both in China and around the world, Lam emphasises that experience and a world-class education are essential in breaking into it. “The aviation industry is a strongly regulated industry,” he explains. “Seasoned professional experience in navigating the competitive government regulated industry is of particular value to success in the profession.
“For this reason, HKUST has established an Industrial Advisory Committee to advise HKUST on the curriculum and on courses to ensure that professional practice is strongly integrated into the curriculum.”
The MScAE is available for both full- and part-time study, which takes one and two years to complete, respectively. The programme fee is HK$135,000. Students should preferably have a bachelor’s degree in a relevant engineering field, or some professional experience in the aviation industry.
