Jointly run by the University of the West of England, Bristol and the University of Bristol, CPDA has been providing world-class professional development opportunities for individuals and organisations in the aerospace industry for 17 years. There are over 65 participating companies, including Airbus UK, Rolls-Royce Plc, QinetiQ and Agusta-Westlands.  The Award Ceremony recognised the achievements of both graduates and current students from the CPDA scheme.

The top prize for the outstanding MSc dissertation was awarded to Mr Etienne Coetzee from the University of Bristol, for his work on how an aircraft on the ground can move as fast as possible yet safely between the runway and the gate. Etienne works at the Landing Gear Systems group of Airbus UK.

This project was carried out at the University of Bristol with Professor Bernd Krauskopf and Dr Mark Lowenberg.  "Etienne's project is an excellent example of what industry and academia can achieve together," says Professor Krauskopf. "Etienne's prize is very well deserved indeed," adds Dr Lowenberg.  "His CPDA project was the catalyst for very exciting follow-on research with Airbus UK on aircraft ground dynamics."

A further 12 prizes were awarded to current CPDA students for excellent assignments and CPDA graduates for excellent MSc Projects, including the outstanding Assignment Achievement Award, to Mrs Tanya Miller

A number of industrial speakers supported the event including the president of the Royal Aeronautical Society, Mr David Marshall.  Other speakers were from Rolls-Royce Plc, Airbus UK, the West of England Aerospace Forum, and the two supporting Universities.  Representatives from other partner companies, such as QinetiQ and the MoD, also attended the event to support and recognise both the success of the students and the CPDA.