Flying high in the desert

Aviation has been my passion since childhood. Growing up in Kenya for 12 years and travelling between Nairobi and Goa at least once a year, heavily influenced my interest in aviation. After my family decided to relocate to Belgaum for good, I joined Phoenix Public School to complete my education from Class VIII to X. The ICSE board of education has a provision where students can opt for the commerce stream right from Class IX — students can take up economics and commercial studies instead of physics, chemistry, math and biology.

I decided to take up this option instead of following the herd and studying engineering. After completing Class X, I joined Jain Pre-University in Belgaum and continued my studies in commerce. It was in Class XI that I discovered about BBA: Aviation Management, a four-year specialised course wherein students learn about aviation from a business point of view. The course was being offered in Dubai by Emirates Aviation University, an institution owned by Dubai-based Emirates Airline. My confidence in opting for this course was further strengthened by shows such as Ultimate Airport Dubai and Air Crash Investigation that stream on The National Geographic Channel.

I passed Class XII with flying colours and landed at Emirates Aviation University. The university is located in the south of Dubai and feels like an oasis in the desert. The subjects that come under the spectrum of BBA aviation management are airport operations, airline operations, air transport team project, air transport quality and safety, aircraft design and performance mixed with generic business courses such as statistics, economics, accountancy, management information systems, and so on. A major incentive after completing the course with a high GPA, is the opportunity to get recruited into Emirates airline.
13/08/17 Meghraj Suhas Patil/The Hindu