NMIT Aviation Network Officially Launched
March 30th, 2008
At the beginning of 2008, The Minister for Transport Safety, Hon Harry Duynhoven, launched the Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology (NMIT) Aviation Network in Wellington. Fundamental to the Network is the NMIT’s Diploma in Aviation Science.
The Minister said that along with the 11 aviation providers around the country, what the NMIT had created was unique. He said that the Aviation Network now trains over 300 pilots a year and that it offered a cohesive framework for students wanting careers in aviation. “The Network is really making its mark as a leader in training the pilots of tomorrow,” he said.
The NMIT Aviation Network claims to offer multiple benefits for aviation students across New Zealand by working together with aviation training providers across New Zealand to serve the interests of students better.
According to NMIT’s chief executive, Tony Gray, one tangible benefit for the students is that it offers access to government student loans from the NMIT to assist them pay for their training. The Diploma in Aviation Science, offered via the Institute, is an internationally recognised qualification that is NZQA approved and can lead onto degree qualifications.
Last December, Luke Emerson became the first New Zealander to graduate from Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology’s (NMIT) Aviation Network and Australia’s Griffith University with a Bachelor of Aviation Degree. The Bachelor of Aviation Degree is a relatively new concept, involving three years of online study with the Brisbane based university.
The relationship that NMIT has with Griffith University enables New Zealand students to pursue their flight training through to degree status. Emerson was one of only a handful of pilots—along with some others from Australia and Asia—to graduate in December.
As well as the usual meteorology, aircraft safety, performance and systems papers, the degree also covers airline management, crew resource management and leadership papers.
According to Emerson, if it weren’t for the New Zealand Aviation Training Network, he wouldn’t have been able to access the degree and praised the assistance he received to make things as easy as possible for him to complete it.
