ABOUT EUROAVIA

EUROAVIA is the European Association of Aerospace Students, founded in 1959 and present in 29 cities in 17 European countries, with a total of about 1000 members. EUROAVIA aims to:

- stimulate contacts between university students and the aerospace industry;
- offer opportunities of acquaintance and exchange among students from different countries, thereby actively pursuing European integration;
- represent European aerospace students at an international level.

Being a non-political, non-profit association, EUROAVIA is managed exclusively by students with its various activities being entirely financed by membership fees. Particular projects are financed by sponsors and participation fees.

ACTIVITIES

EUROAVIA consists of 29 Local Groups that are local associations having wide autonomy in their activities. They are headed by a Local Board (executive committee), composed of four to eight persons. The Local Board, elected for a one year term, represents EUROAVIA on local level.
Local activities include:

Visits to companies, aerospace research centers, military air bases, etc.
Usually one day long, they provide opportunities to establish contacts, speak with professionals and get in touch with what complements the often theory-oriented university education.

Workshops
Often in cooperation with aerospace companies, individual Local Groups organize workshops on topics such as TQM or project management.

Lectures
Usually held by professionals from the aerospace field or professors, these lectures deal with various topics from aerospace history to current developments.

Parties and social events
Last not least, EUROAVIA is not just about aerospace education, it is a great place to meet people and have plenty of experiences.

The following are coordinated by the I.B.:

Fly-Ins
Fly-Ins are events consisting of industry visits, cultural happenings, lectures, workshops, parties, etc. They are organized by one of the Local Groups, and usually last five to eight days. Participants have the opportunity to gain a more profound understanding of the respective culture and the educational circumstances that prevail locally.

Symposia
They are organized by a Local Group, often in collaboration with the university or another association, on an important aerospace topic. Previous symposia include:

Aerospace and Environment, München, 1992
Helicopters, Aachen, 1994
Transport, what are the limits?, Delft, 1996
EURO-Alliance: European co-operation in aerospace, Delft, 1999
The return of the airship, Haarlem, 2000
AEGES, wing in ground effect, Toulouse, 2001
Mission to Mars, Leuven, 2002

Design Contest/Design Workshop
The Design Contest is a competition among all interested European students (not only aerospace students!) on a specific topic; the winners participate in the 3-week Design Workshop, during which they work in truly European teams on demanding projects, usually preliminary studies of aeronatical or space projects.

Airshow presences
EUROAVIA participates in major aerospace exhibitions in Europe being present at:

- ILA (Berlin);
- Farnborough;
- Le Bourget (Paris).

INTERNATIONAL STRUCTURE

The International Board (IB) represents EUROAVIA on European level. The IB is nominated during the yearly EMEAC (Electoral Meeting of the EUROAVIA Congress), which is usually held in April or May. The nominees form the Designated International Board (DIB) preparing a Business and Financial Plan before they take over their predecessors' job at the AMEAC (Annual Meeting of the EUROAVIA Congress) in October.

Local Groups' students participate to form these two congresses. Besides the the International Board's election, the representatives discuss future international activities and receive reports from the established international Working Groups. And since the congresses are always organized by one of the 30 Local Groups, they are also an excellent opportunity to see more of Europe!

The I.B. coordinates the association's international activities mentioned on the section above. Such exceptional events not only serve as a meeting place for EUROAVIAns, but our participation often enables EUROAVIA to provide its members with discounted tickets for these exhibitions.

WORKING GROUPS

For specific long term projects, several (WGs) have been established; they have financial and decisional autonomy and report to the EUROAVIA Congress. Some of them are founded on a permanent basis:

Central Archive Permanent Working Group
This is an archive of all decisions taken by the International Board or during the Congresses; one could call it the "long-term memory" of EUROAVIA.

News Permanent Working Group, Newsletter Permanent Working Group
As described above, these WGs edit and publish EUROAVIA's publications.

IT Permanent Working Group
This permanent working group is responsible for the International Homepage, the EUROAVIA newsgroups and email aliasses and other IT related subjects.

DeCo/DeWo Working Group
The DeCo/DeWo WG organizes the biannually held Design Contest and the Design Workshop.

EYE Working Group
This WG has started working on a job portal for Young Engineers (EYE in Aerospace). In the near future it will be possible to give companies the opportunity to reach qualified CV's of Young Engineers.

PUBLICATIONS

EUROAVIA's official organ of communication is the EUROAVIA News. Quarterly published, it provides information to all members about:

- local and international activities;
- technical/scientific reports and essays;
- various aspects of university education in European countries;
- European cooperation in aerospace.

The News magazine is entirely composed and published by students. It is financed by the Local Groups and by advertisements arranged by the (mainly) aerospace companies and institutions. The EUROAVIA News is provided for free to all members. It is also available to non-members. For further information, please check out the EA News Homepage!

An internal publication, the Newsletter, is distributed monthly and provides the Local Groups with activity reports of the IB and other LGs, with announcements of forthcoming events.