| China trip goes beyond pilot training MSU to train as many as 150 rescue helicop |
MANKATO —
Minnesota State University, Mankato city and airport officials say
their trip to China was a raging success that reached far beyond the
original scope of the mission.
MSU President Richard Davenport and a contingent of city and business
leaders returned Monday from China after spending a week there meeting
with government, business and university leaders.
A group of civic and business leaders
from Mankato visited the Hiller China Aviation plant in China.
Originally, the main goal of the trip was to shore up an agreement to
train Chinese pilots at the Mankato airport through MSU’s aviation
program. Davenport said he expects the first Chinese pilots to be in
Mankato in about a year.
When they come they’ll primarily be trained to fly helicopters because
of the Chinese government’s new commitment to safety for its citizens.
Driven by the massive loss of life in the wake of earthquakes that
struck rural parts of China, the government has devised a plan to create
a series of emergency rescue
centers, each with about 20 helicopters, with about two or three pilots
per helicopter. The rescue centers will also have a modern, fully
staffed hospital. China estimates it will need 12,000 pilots for this.
They’re hoping, ultimately, to train roughly 150 of them per year at
MSU.
But the trip wasn’t limited to aviation. While there, the group also
met with Renmin University, which is reportedly China’s third-ranked
higher education institution.
This meeting resulted in a preliminary agreement to put together an
exchange program which, if all goes well, could result in student
exchanges by next summer. Students from Minnesota will be able to study
in any program at the university, which operates in English.
The group also met with a group from a business called Insights
Education International, which facilitates student exchanges. That group
is lead by a Frank Mok, a graduate of MSU. A memorandum of
understanding was signed by the Minnesota delegation and Insights to
work together on exchange programs.
Talks about the pilot need, Davenport said, led the group to learn more
about the reasons China was developing the Emergency Rescue Centers.
From that, they discovered the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities
system is poised to help in many ways as China figures how to staff its
airports and hospitals.
MnSCU, Davenport said, has experts in emergency training that could be
valuable to the Chinese government as they carry out their Emergency
Rescue Center plans.
“China was an outstanding experience for all of us,” Davenport said.
“Overall, it exceeded everyone’s expectations.”
Davenport said Friday that Changdong Xu, who invited the delegation to
China, told him there would be a five-year window where institutions can
have a major impact on China’s future.
As for aviation, curriculum is being prepared right now to teach
helicopter training. Adjunct instructors proficient in helicopter flight
will probably be added to the program. And if the number of pilots
predicted for the program actually show up, MSU may need to add faculty
to the program.
Aviation assistant professor Tom Peterson said he spoke with government
officials in China about the training and they said they hoped training
could start soon.
“They’re very concerned about when they can get their pilots,” Peterson
said. “They’ve been using a lot of foreign pilots. Now they want their
own.”
Added Mankato businessman Curt Fisher, “China is investing in its
infrastructure, and is poised for great growth in the future.”
On a somewhat unrelated note, the group was asked about Mankato Mayor
John Brady’s presence and whether it affected the trip.
Brady was arrested and cited for drunken driving on his way to catch a
flight to China. He missed his original flight but caught another one in
time, Davenport said, to not miss any of the meetings the group had set
up with government and business leaders in China.
“He performed admirably,” Davenport said.
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