The Aerospace Engineering, inserted in the field of industrial engineering, is concerned with the design, manufacture and administration of vehicles capable of flight within the Earth’s atmosphere, of vehicles able to move on the outside and of any aeronautical product.
The Aerospace Engineer must be equipped with a knowledge of the whole, he must be able to integrate concepts drawn from disciplines sometimes distant each other and steer them in the general context for which the airplane is designed; in fact it is defined as an engineering of system.
Both a solid grounding on methodological aspects and general subjects, both appropriate and selected knowledge of the aerospace industry are needed. Therefore the cultural basis of the aerospace engineer is not specialist although it includes many and various complex knowledge: even when he works in a specialized context, he must be able to see unitarily the different aspects of one problem.
The course offers an interdisciplinary understanding of the basic teachings and typical discipline of the sector. The student must also acquire skills that will enable him to interact with colleagues in neighboring fields and to cope with the constant demand for innovation from the market.
The formative program is divided into several blocks:
– Scientific and methodological fundamentals: they are indispensable disciplines for the engineering, such as mathematics and basic sciences (physics and chemistry);
– Industrial and general engineering: it includes the engineering basis common to all engineers (in particular the industrial technical drawing, thermodynamics, mechanics of machines, electrical engineering, electronics, materials science);
– Foundations of aerospace engineering: conceptsfromspecific areassuch asflight mechanics, aerospacestructures, on-board systems, aerodynamics andpropulsion.
In addition, there is a comparison with the issues of safety, reliability and sustainable development; the knowledge of the regulations issued by national and international authorities (such as the ENAC, EASA, FAA) of certification, regulation, control and supervision in the field of aviation is of vital importance.
The aerospace industry requires a highly skilled workforce and prone to innovation, because of the increasing competition in the global market and the increasing demands of international customers.
The degree course aims to equip students with skills that enable them to:
– Operate within national and international industries in the sector;
– Manage relationships with organizations and space agencies;
– Relate to public and private entities for research and experimentation.
The typical outlet of the graduated in Aerospace Engineering is in companies involved in the design, construction or maintenance of aircraft and their components. Graduates will be able to carry out professional roles in a number of areas: security management in the process of prevention and emergency; risk analysis; management, organization and assistance of the technical and commercial structures; both as freelancers and in business or public administration.
The scope of the research also opens up job opportunities for the Aerospace Engineers: the Aerospace has been characterized by the higher intensity of research for developed countries among the industrial sectors in recent decades.
In addition, the figure of the Aerospace Engineer is also required in related fields. He is prepared to carry out studies of plants producing energy, to collaborate in the design of land vehicles and naval, or large buildings and bridges.
The graduated should be aware that the reference scenario for future employment will not be Italy probably, in fact the European aerospace industry has occupied more than 350,000 employees in the past decade, of which a good 10 % in Italy, which provides an appreciable position in Europe for our nation.
Finally, we must point out that the Aerospace Engineer does not “go to the moon”, as it is customary to think. Nay, though many are also engineers, astronauts must pass very selective tests of general knowledge, concentration and understanding of the English language, physical and medical tests and technical-scientific talks.