The stage was set, and there was palpable excitement among the graduates, their families and friends as VIPs and senior leaders arrived to celebrate Emirates Group Security’s 14^th graduation earlier today.

The ceremony, held at the Emirates Group Headquarters, honoured the achievements of the latest cohort of 109 graduates from 35 nationalities – 72 received the Diploma in Aviation Security Management and 37 the Diploma in Ground Handling. Of these, 86 graduates are employees of the Emirates Group.

His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive Emirates Airline and Group said: “Aviation is one of the most robust and thriving industries in the UAE, and Dubai is one of the largest global aviation hubs. The importance of these two diploma programmes is clear, especially in the context of building our nation’s expertise, our people’s skills, and enhancing safety and security in our aviation ecosystem. It’s encouraging to see so many of our employees proactively upskilling themselves. I congratulate all our graduates and wish them every success in their professional lives and careers.”

Both diplomas are offered by Emirates Group Security’s education arm, Centre of Aviation Security Studies (CASS), which has been established in partnership with Edith Cowan University (ECU), Australia. The collaboration between CASS and the ECU dates back to 2000, when they began to jointly develop the curriculum for the diplomas.

Dr Abdulla Al Hashimi, Divisional Senior Vice President, Emirates Group Security said: “Every year, a new cohort of students commit to and graduate through our 18-month programme, and their diplomas have become key to their professional success – whether it’s their first job or a fresh start in the aviation industry. While you can have the best technology in the world, it really comes down to the human factor and people’s expertise, and both our programmes equip students with specialist skills. Nearly 2,000 students have graduated from our programmes in the last 18 years, and our partnership with the Edith Cowan University has been at the core of its success.”

Professor Steve Chapman, Vice-Chancellor of Edith Cowan University said: “ECU places huge value on its partnership with Emirates as a world leading airline. I am truly excited about the future opportunities for the Emirates-ECU partnership and I look forward to seeing our relationship grow and deepen.”

Students in the programmes are taken through a range of subjects, including aviation security, threat assessment and management, and aviation logistics. CASS awards diplomas under the Australian Commonwealth university guidelines and they are also recognised by the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA). CASS graduates have the option to earn internationally recognised credit points for future courses of study with Edith Cowan University.

In addition to the diploma programmes, Emirates Group Security offers a number of short term university-level accredited training programmes in aviation and general security for ground staff, aircrew and professionals from security and related industries.

Click here for more information on CASS, ECU and the programmes.

Hear from two top graduates…

Nataliia Akatova said: “I was just promoted to a new position, and expected it to be very intense and stressful, but it was easy to manage both. I swapped shifts with my colleagues to attend every single class at the academy. The trainers were truly amazing! They were professional and patient. I gained a lot of confidence during the programme, and found a new job right after. If you love aviation passionately, if you are ready to invest time in yourself and your dreams – you must go for this course. This is your opportunity to see your job from a different angle, see yourself in a big picture and connect the dots. Apart from that, you’ll definitely meet new people, make friends, learn something new together and have fun! This course was life changing for me, and maybe it will be for others as well.”

Thuy Nga said: “It was tough because I work in operations, but CASS sent me the schedule of the whole programme in advance, so I could follow up and look for replacements ahead of time. The programme trained me for all ground handling jobs – from check-ins to boarding and connections – and tackled a wide gamut of subjects like security, airlines, airports, logistics, supply chain, and cargo. The facilities at Emirates Aviation College is great. Education is the passport to the future. Studying is hard, but you’ll see it’s worth it.”