Anamaria Dioane has been announced as the recipient of the Christine Ourmières-Widener Diversity scholarship, which will help to fund her studies while she undertakes the Air Transport Management MSc programme at Cranfield University.
The scholarship was created by Christine Ourmières-Widener, former Flybe chief executive, after she was honoured in the inaugural International Air Transport Association (IATA) Diversity and Inclusion awards. She took the decision to donate her $25,000 prize to create the scholarship in order to support and encourage the growth of more female leadership. Following the announcement of the recipient of the new scholarship, Christine Ourmières-Widener said: “It’s a pleasure to use the funds I received from the IATA Diversity and Inclusion awards to help Anamaria to continue her studies and become a future leader in the aviation industry. I look forward to working with her as a mentor on this new adventure.”
Dr Robert Mayer, course director for the Air Transport Management MSc programme, said: “Cranfield University has been running air transport management degrees for over 50 years. We recognise the need for a diverse workforce in the industry. Currently in the aviation industry, women are under-represented in many areas. We would like to thank Christine Ourmières-Widener for her support and generous scholarship to encourage more women into aviation. Christine can be seen as a true role model, not only for our female students, but for all students studying for the MSc in Air Transport Management.”
Anamaria Dioane is an aerospace engineer and a recent graduate of the Air Navigation section at the Politehnica University of Bucharest. She also studied abroad during her bachelor’s degree at the Universitat Politècnica de València and has completed two internships – the first with the Romanian Air Traffic Services Administration and, most recently, with the European Agency for the Safety of Air Traffic Management. Her professional goal is to contribute to society by developing solutions and strategies for a safer, more efficient transport system.
On accepting the scholarship, Anamaria said: “It is hard to quantify my excitement after being chosen to be the recipient of this scholarship – it is a life-changing opportunity. Thank you very much. I am certain it will make a significant, positive impact on my ability to achieve my professional goals by continuing my studies at Cranfield. With such a great opportunity comes great responsibility, I’m very much looking forward to starting the Air Transport Management MSc programme.”
Anamaria will be commencing her studies at Cranfield University this autumn.
About Cranfield University
Cranfield University is a specialist postgraduate university that is a global leader for education and transformational research in technology and management.
Transport Systems at Cranfield
Cranfield has over 50 years’ experience in transport, including the aviation, automotive, motorsport, military and marine sectors.
We are the only university in Europe to own and run an airport and to have airline status.
Our education and award-winning research covers all modes of vehicles and transport across technology, engineering and management, including sustainable transport and intelligent mobility.
In an increasingly interconnected world, we specialise in understanding the whole environment in which transport operates: the vehicles, infrastructure, businesses and logistics, as well as the human aspects of operating, managing and using transport.
Our world-class facilities include high-performance wind tunnels, an off-road vehicle dynamics facility, a crash impact test centre (one of just three FIA (Federation Internationale de l’Automobile) approved test centres in the world) and our Accident Investigation Laboratory, which is dedicated to our work in aviation, marine and rail safety and the only accident investigation laboratory of its type outside the United States. We were awarded the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for our world-leading work in aviation safety through research and training in air accident investigation in 2011.
Completed in 2017, our latest facility, the Multi-User Environment for Autonomous Vehicle Innovation, is a £19 million ‘smart’ roadway test environment for the development of intelligent and autonomous vehicles, making it a UK first. It includes the associated systems needed to integrate emerging technologies into our day-to-day lives.
A new £65 million Digital Aviation Research and Technology Centre will also be built at Cranfield to spearhead the UK’s research into digital aviation technology, and a new state-of-the-art digital control tower, which replicates what can be seen through the windows of a traditional air traffic control tower via a live feed using HD cameras and sensors, is being installed at Cranfield Airport.
