UK education’s support for its aerospace industry Available to Purchase

This paper describes the change of dominance, in the provision of engineering education and training, from that of major large scale industry to that of the UK public sector. Using aerospace engineering as an example, it emphasises the need for education to demonstrate more openly and effectively its ability to provide world class support for UK industry. This industry is now dominated by small and medium enterprises and in aerospace, as well as other high technological areas, it is facing increasingly severe competition from overseas. Ways of helping the further and higher education institutions to achieve such support is described by their initiation of the well established Association of Colleges of Aerospace Technology (ACAT) and the relatively new Association of Aerospace Universities (AAU). These bodies comprise mainly aerospace engineering teaching staff but there are some members from industry. Their aims are to continually improve the image, effectiveness and relevance of aerospace education. Details of ACAT and AAU are given in the appendices together with ideas for collaboration with Internet initiatives of Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology (MCB University Press Ltd) and the Aerospace Academic Network (AAN).