Educational growth in the aeronautical and aerospace sectors

2018 was a year where the growth and consolidation of the aerospace sector was intensely experienced, whose impact continues to be a reality by serving more than 1,600 young people in higher education, achieving the graduation of more than 600 technicians from job training programs and training more than 3,600 participants in continuing education courses; the latter required the operation of 415 courses, which involved a very important effort and deployment of both human and material resources.

Entrepreneurship at UNAQ

Similarly, UNAQ consolidated an area of entrepreneurship, one of the highlights of this year's activities was the event "Entrepreneurship among sharks" where a group of students presented to entrepreneurs, the projects they have developed to receive feedback and identify areas for improvement to consolidate their initiatives.

Consolidating links with strategic actors

2018, was a year of alliances, high-level visits were received from the military sector of Mexico and Colombia, as well as from the international aeronautical sector and diplomatic visits that allowed us to forge new projects in the institution.

The armed forces have played an exceptional role with the university, based on the collaboration agreements signed. This year the Secretary of the Navy, through Vice Admiral Juan José Padilla Olmos, coordinator of Naval Aeronautics, and Vice Admiral Mario Vela Domínguez, toured the university facilities and spoke with UNAQ authorities about establishing ties for the development of the country. Likewise, high commanders of the Army and F.A.M. Research and Development Center, CIDEFAM, which is a research and development center of the Army and F.A.M., visited the university. CIDEFAM, which is an organization that generates scientific research projects, technological development and innovation in the military, engineering and biomedical sciences, visited UNAQ to explore future collaborations and technological development projects such as the AZTECA project.

At the international level, the Military Aviation School of Cali, Colombia, through Lieutenant Luis Alfonso Durango Quintero, Head of the Extension and Internationalization Section, and Second Lieutenant César Arturo Celis Bernal, Commander of the military security element, visited the university and discussed the evaluation of joint projects. 

Likewise, on June 25, 2018, the agreement was signed with the Colombian Air Force, with whom the university had been collaborating previously in the Aeronautical Logistics Congress, where professors and allies of the institution such as DHL Logistics and the Mexican Air Force participated. The agreement is aimed at the exchange of teachers, students, technological development, collaboration in congresses and seminars, as well as the formation of human capital in postgraduate areas. 

At the end of the year, UNAQ was invited to the second Aviation Safety Congress in La Paz, Baja California, where several specialists in the field meet to share knowledge. The third edition is expected to be held at UNAQ.

UNAQ, as its vision states, seeks to be a nationally and internationally recognized institution, this year was no exception with the visit of the Austrian delegation, led by Dr. Holger Friehmelt, Director of the Institute of Aviation of the University of Applied Sciences FH JOANNEUM, with whom later an agreement was signed that allowed the collaboration alliance for the development of research and student exchanges between both institutions.

The link with the aeronautical industry is of utmost importance for the university, which is why in 2018 ties were strengthened with one of the most important companies in the sector, AIRBUS. Christian Delmas, Head of Airbus Maintenance Training Organization; Michel-Pierre Petit, Airbus Mexico Training Centre; Víctor Liriano, Americas Maintenance Training Director and Alan Flores, AMTC Operations Manager, executives from the Airbus Training Center accompanied by UNAQ executives learned about the university's capabilities to continue consolidating specialized technical training for AIRBUS.

Also, executives from General Electric and the SAE G3 committee, companies related to the sector, came to learn about the capabilities of the university regarding the technical-educational offer to carry out joint work and projects between industry and academia. The SAE G3 committee is made up of suppliers and users dedicated to developing standards for fluid distribution systems in aircraft, engines and propulsion systems in general. 

Strengthening of the inter-institutional postgraduate program

On November 23, 2018, in the pursuit of continuous improvement, the signing of an agreement was held to formalize the start of activities, actions and strategies that strengthened the Interinstitutional Master's Program in Aerospace Engineering Sciences. This important event was attended by the directors of Centro de Ingeniería y Desarrollo Industrial (CIDESI), Centro Nacional de Tecnologías Aeronáuticas (CENTA), Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (CINVESTAV), Centro de Tecnología Avanzada (CIATEQ) and Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo Tecnológico en Electroquímica (CIDETEQ), who previously signed the corresponding protocol agreements.

Within the framework of these strategic alliances, CENTA researchers were able to advise students in the development of their thesis projects, carrying out full-time internships.

Other activities included the inauguration of the virtual classroom, which is an important and flexible technological tool for distance education and high-level conferences with an impact on different sectors, particularly the educational and aeronautical sectors, with the presence of the rector, academic staff and directors of UNAQ, as well as graduate professors.

On the other hand, the university included in the main curricula of the Higher Technical University and Engineering programs, the support of e-learning technology that allows students to acquire knowledge and perform internships, as well as to obtain international certifications in the use of state-of-the-art IT tools, which will enable them to face the challenges of Industry 4.0 (Internet of Things), among other transcendental skills to guarantee their current and future employability.

Presentation of the DHL - CANACINTRA Student Excellence Award, sixth edition

For the sixth consecutive year, DHL Express Mexico and CANACINTRA have recognized the best students of UNAQ, who were selected under parameters that measure their academic performance and student trajectory, from the academic levels of Higher Technical University (TSU) and Engineering. These important companies have considered UNAQ a hotbed of talent for the region's industries.