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The Galway Education Centre has just signed a momentous agreement with the National Flight Academy in Pensacola, Florida, USA and are proud to announce that they are seeking 12 school children aged 12-15 to take part in the inaugural “Aviator of the Future” programme this summer! The first year will be treated as a pilot programme – open to students from Galway City and County only with plans to expand to a national programme in 2013.
For twelve lucky schoolchildren this will be the opportunity of a lifetime! They will fly to The National Flight Academy in the United States and take part in a special five day residency on board the NFA’s simulated training aircraft carrier, Ambition. Ambition is designed to simulate a modern aircraft carrier with three decks catering for everything from simulation and immersion centre spaces to academic spaces, mess decks and accommodation berthing.
This agreement between the Galway Education Centre and The National Flight Academy also marks an historic milestone as the successful Irish students will be the very first international students on board the Ambition taking part in this wonderful programme.
Every day during the six day programme will involve a unique mission. It all starts with a story – a heart pumping, adrenaline filled task with squadrons competing to successfully complete each mission. Whether it is a race or rescue, science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) skills are used along with critical thinking, problem solving, teamwork and communication to advance the teams. The week ends with a graduation ceremony to celebrate the students accomplishments throughout the week with awards, trophies and recognition taking centre stage for the last day.
The National Flight Academy is a subsidiary of The Naval Aviation Museum Foundation in the United States. In 1993, the foundation began focusing on youth education programmes which addressed concerns of declining science, technology, engineering and maths skills and standards in the USA. The Galway Education Centre have for some time also been running programmes such as FIRST LEGO League and The CREST Awards here in Ireland in an effort to also recognise and reward excellence in these important STEM subjects for Irish Students.
“To be in a position to offer Irish students an opportunity like this is truly a blessing!”, said Bernard Kirk, Director of The Galway Education Centre, “Through our work in the area, we are very aware of the high standards in STEM subjects among our students here in Ireland. To allow these children to have an experience of a lifetime which gives them a genuine taste for their own potential and shows them in real life situations the power and promise of STEM subjects is priceless. We are delighted with this new partnership and look forward to working closely with the NFA for a considerable number of years to come”.
“The National Flight Academy is honoured to partner with the Galway Education Centre on this truly immersive educational programme. We are thrilled to welcome the first international students to AMBITION for an unparalleled experience combining STEM with technology, simulation, team building and leadership,” said retired U.S. Navy Vice Admiral Gerald Hoewing, President of the National Flight Academy located in Pensacola, Florida, U.S.A.