On the afternoon of Feb, 18th, 2014, a grand commencement ceremony for SIAE’s first batch of graduates was held in the conference hall of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) in Beijing, which is also a part of the celebrations for the 50th anniversary of Sino-French diplomatic relations. 75 students of the “Dominique BUSSEREAU” class would become the first batch to graduate with internationally recognized degree of aviation engineer in China.
The ceremony received much attention from various parties. Mr. Li Jiaxiang, Director of CAAC, Ms. Sylvie BERMANN, the French Ambassador to China, Mr. Patrick GANDIL, Director General of DGAC, Mr. Xia Xinghua, Deputy Director of CAAC, Mr. Marc HOUALLA, president of Ecole Nationale de l’Aviation Civile (ENAC), Mr. Olivier FOURURE, president of Ecole Nationale Supérieure de l’Aéronautique et de l’Espace (ISAE), Mr. Francis COTTET, president of Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Mécanique et d'Aérotechnique (ISAE/ENSMA), and Mr. Wu Tongshui, president of CAUC attended the ceremony, which was presided over by Mr. Jing Yihong, Party Secretary of CAUC. Besides, representatives of Chinese government institutions, the Advisory Council of SIAE, aviation enterprises and organizations from both China and France, students from SIAE, and graduates’ parents, etc. were also present at the ceremony to witness a brand new start for those graduates.
On behalf of CAAC, Li Jiaxiang extended his heartfelt thanks for the participation of Embassy of France and French aviation enterprises and supports from Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Education, expressed warm congratulations to the graduates, and paid tribute to teachers from both sides for their hard work. He briefly reviewed the major achievements since the two countries have established diplomatic relations. He stressed that, the project of Sino-European Institute of Aviation Engineering (SIAE) is of significance in improving China’s civil aviation safety and providing talent reserve. He hoped that with SIAE as a platform, the students can make greater contributions to civil aviation industry of China and cooperation between the two countries. Li also wrote an inscription of “work together to pursuit the dream in blue sky" for SIAE.
Sylvie Bermann, conveyed the best regards from Dominique Bussereau, the former head of French Department of Transportation, after whom the graduation class was named. He believed that the excellent education provided by SIAE would fully meet the demands of relevant enterprises. What’s more important, the cross-cultural capability the students internalized from SIAE would lay a solid foundation for their future growth.
Patrick Gandil also thanked teachers from the two countries for their unremitting efforts in imparting scientific knowledge. He also hoped that two sides can expand the areas of cooperation, create a safer environment for the development of aviation industry as well as foster more talents.
According to Marc Houalla’s speech, 90% of the graduates will take a position in Chinese institutions such as CAAC and CAUC, etc, while the rest 10% will be employed by French airlines. “Wherever they work, I hope they would gain new experiences...and French schools would adhere to their support for the development of SIAE.” he said.
Wu Tongshui commented that the students should keep striving forward to make themselves the backbone that drives the technological advancement of our country’s civil aviation. He underlined the willingness of CAUC to further expand cooperative areas with France and raise the talent cultivation to a higher level.
The teachers’ painstaking efforts to consummate this important ceremony were also praised by the students. After the ceremony, Li Rui, a graduate, told the journalist: “Short as it is, the ceremony is a mirror that reflects our six years of school life. I am grateful to my school and every teacher who contributed so much to the success of today’s graduation ceremony.”
