In May 2017, Rajiv Gandhi National Aviation University (RGNAU) launched its first Management Development Program (MDP) in Implementation of Safety Management Systems (SMS). With Indian civil aviation sector expected to witness an expansive growth in the next few years, the knowledge of Safety Management Systems becomes indispensable for young professionals for ensuring compliance with safety standards. The program has been designed, in line with the requirements understood during the workshops conducted with the Industry, and is ideal for middle level management personnel with safety implementation responsibilities from regulatory authorities, air operators, airport operators, cargo logistics operators, air navigation service providers, maintenance service providers and ground service providers. The University offered this course as a 5-day full-time course from 29th May to 02nd June 2017. The programme was delivered by international faculty with consummate experience in the development and implementation of standards in various aviation organisations.
The course curriculum is based on Annex 19 to the Chicago Convention and ICAO Document 9859 to include an overview, design and development of safety management system (SMS), safety measurements, maintenance and control, and change management process in SMS. It provides an overview of the best practices in SMS that are being globally pursued and most importantly provide a platform for active exchange of ideas on opportunities and challenges in areas of growth and development of Indian Aviation sector.
Each year RGNAU would review the programmes offered in the previous years and would identify programmes suited for the industry. The MDP programmes would cover all functional areas and would help executives to shift from one functional area to another to programmes focusing on specific topics to help executives take up specific higher responsibilities. In addition, programmes would help executives develop their personality and leadership skills.
Management Development Programmes provide various benefits:
- Assess the current degree of implementation in your organization and deploy an SMS implementation plan
- Apply ICAO's safety management concepts and processes to your SMS
- Manage the SMS implementation workload as well as the deliverables for each stage of your plan
- Be exposed to opportunities for personal benchmarking, interaction, networking and strategic discussions with other motivated professionals
- Access a rigorous and holistic development experience, complete with a certificate of course completion from RGNAU
