Unam enrols over 500 students in aeronautics programme

The University of Namibia (Unam) has enrolled 512 students in its aeronautics programme to meet the demands of the aviation industry.

Unam lecturer of aeronautics and astronautics Peter Immanuel says the programme was launched in 2013 as a joint collaboration with the Ministry of Defence and Veterans Affairs.

“The programme is a cocktail of different curricula that we wanted to incorporate for both civilians and members of the military to educate them on the aviation industry,” he says.

Immanuel was speaking at the final day of the Namibia Aviation Safety and Security Conference in Windhoek on Tuesday.

The conference was held under the theme of strengthening Namibia’s aviation industry.

Immanuel addressed the importance of accredited courses in developing the aviation industry, particularly with the emergence of green hydrogen projects and the oil and gas in the country.

Flight officer and aeronautics student Lucas Lirunga highlighted the importance of the high school curriculum integrating aviation related subjects, to expose pupils to aviation early.

“By the time high school pupils decide they want to study aviation, related programmes should allow them to become familiar with the aviation industry,” Lirungu said.

He emphasised that integrating aviation programmes in schools will allow the industry to grow by exposing pupils to careers other than pilots, such as aircraft engineers and technicians, as well as the field of cyber security.