The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has commenced discussions with the African Aviation and Aerospace University (AAAU), Abuja, on strengthening technical capacity, knowledge development and professional expertise required to support the emerging Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) ecosystem in Nigeria.
This was disclosed when the technical team from the NCAA Environment Team, comprising an NCAA SAF Technical Expert and ICAO Consultant, Mr. Jon McKechnie, visited AAAU for discussions on SAF development, training, knowledge exchange and institutional capacity building.
The team was received by the Ag. Vice-Chancellor of AAAU, Dr. Mustapha Sheikh Abdullahi, Ph.D., FInstTA, FCMI, alongside members of the University Management and staff.
In his opening remarks, the Vice-Chancellor provided an overview of the University, highlighting its establishment, academic programmes and growing focus on aviation, aerospace and environmental sustainability.
He also highlighted the role of the African Centre for Climate Change and Aviation Decarbonization (ACCCAD) in advancing knowledge, research and capacity development in climate change and aviation decarbonization.
Dr. Abdullahi said, the discussions was built on preliminary efforts initiated last year to explore Nigeria’s potential for Sustainable Aviation Fuel development. Adding that studies identified significant opportunities for SAF production from available sustainable resources, providing a basis for further consideration of the technical, academic and institutional requirements necessary to develop a functional SAF ecosystem in Nigeria.
He further stated that the increasing attention on translating this potential into practical action, will examined the potential role of AAAU as a knowledge and training base for SAF capacity development, adding that the focus of the engagement was the proposed Training of Trainers (ToT) programme, designed to develop a pool of professionals and subject matter experts capable of transferring knowledge and supporting wider capacity development in the SAF sector.
Dr, Abdullahi said, the proposed capacity-building activities are consistent with the University’s aviation and environmental sustainability mandate and the work of ACCCAD, particularly in the areas of climate change, aviation decarbonization and professional capacity development.
He expressed the University’s interest in the proposed collaboration and its potential role in hosting and supporting SAF-related training and knowledge-development activities.
He noted that the proposed activities could also contribute to strengthening the technical foundation of ACCCAD and advancing its broader capacity-development objectives.
The NCAA Team leader earlier discussed the structure and requirements of the proposed programme, including the technical and knowledge areas to be covered and the need for an appropriate academic foundation to support the initiative to explored opportunities for the exchange of tutors, trainers and subject-matter experts among relevant institutions, institutional infrastructure required to develop, absorb and transfer knowledge in the emerging SAF field.
He further underscored the importance of collaboration among regulators, academic institutions, technical experts, industry stakeholders and other relevant partners, given the multidisciplinary nature of Sustainable Aviation Fuel development. He said, the teams comprising the leadership of ACCCAD and other relevant experts within AAAU will work with the NCAA technical team to further define areas of collaboration, including training, subject-matter expertise, knowledge exchange and the proposed Training of Trainers programme.
The engagement marks a step towards strengthening the human and institutional capacity required to support Nigeria’s Sustainable Aviation Fuel ambitions, while deepening collaboration between the aviation regulator and academia towards a more sustainable and lower-emission aviation sector.
Head, Public Relations
African Aviation and Aerospace University (AAAU)
