ENAC Alumni is a nonprofit organization, alumni association created in 1987,[1] and registered in Toulouse, Midi-Pyrénées. A key founder and former vice president of the association was Robert Aladenyse who dedicated his career to the ENAC alumni. Each year, the Robert Aladenyse Award recognizes the best internships of the year.[2]
History
The École Nationale de l'Aviation Civile was founded in 1949 in Orly, France. Its initial purpose was to educate the future public workers of the Directorate General for Civil Aviation. At the beginning of the 1970s, the university started the recruitment of students for the aerospace industry, outside of its original pool of future DGAC employees. The number of so-called "civilian" students steadily grew in the 1980s. Robert Aladenyse (1931-2003, 1964 graduate) decided in 1987 to create a nonprofit organization for the aviation engineers (Diplôme d'ingénieur) alumni. This association was then called IngENAC.
In February 2019, ENAC Alumni held the first edition of The State of the Air (Les Etats de l'Air) which is a conference featuring a series of round tables and master classes with a panel of aviation leaders. The 2019 edition was hosted by the French DGAC.[8] This event is now held annually in Paris. The first African edition was organized in 2024 in Cameroon and the association is working on a second edition in 2026.[9][10]
ENAC Alumni USA
The U.S. chapter of ENAC Alumni was founded in December 2018.[11] It has over 100 members across the United States. Its programs include developing the membership, mentoring students and young professionals, promoting diversity and inclusion, and strengthening the relationship with U.S. universities. It has ongoing task forces on the U.S. licenses & certifications and professional organizations.[12] The chapter has also an emergency information and mutual aid coordination initiative that was launched in response to Hurricane Dorian and was activated again during the COVID-19 crisis.[13]
Airport Think Tank
The Airport Think Tank is chaired by Gaël Le Bris. With over 100 members. This think tank is conducting The Future of Airports: A Vision of 2040 and 2070, a research initiative on the long-term future of the airport industry. This project involves a global industry panel of about 20 thought aviation leaders worldwide as well as regional task forces. The first version of the global analysis was released in April 2020.[14]
Industrial and institutional partners
According to the website of ENAC Alumni,[15] the key partners of the association are the following:
ENAC Alumni has published ENAC Alumni Magazine since 2014.[19] This publication is the successor of the Transpondeur of IngENAC.
In popular culture
Yann Gozlan's film, Black Box, released in 2021, includes a scene of a cocktail party organized by ENAC Alumni. For the purposes of the film, real ENAC graduates were extras.[20]
