# ENAC Alumni

ENAC Alumni is a nonprofit organization, alumni association created in 1987, 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.
The main missions of the association are to bring together the alumni of ENAC, to support the alumni community worldwide, and to contribute to the development of École Nationale de l'Aviation Civile (National University of Civil Aviation also referred to as French Civil Aviation University). ENAC is the first European Graduate School in the fields of aeronautics and aviation. As of January 2023, it has about 27,500 alumni which makes the association the largest in France for aviation programs.

## 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 the 2000s, the development of the Master's degree and Mastères Spécialisés programs led IngENAC to expand its membership to these new alumnus. On January 1, 2010, ENAC merged with the SEFA (flight school) and became the largest aeronautical university in Europe. These major changes in the profile of ENAC and its alumni population were an impetus for a deeper redevelopment of IngENAC into a broader alumni association reflecting the new ambitions of the university and the diversity of its community. In 2012, IngENAC changed name and became known as ENAC Alumni. The newly rebranded association is now the alumni association of all graduates of ENAC, whatever their degree. This includes the Aeronautical operations technicians, the Techniciens supérieur de l'aviation, the Air Traffic Safety Electronics Personnels and the Ingénieurs des études et de l'exploitation de l'aviation civile. The new status became effective in March 2012.
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.

## Missions

The actions and policies of ENAC Alumni intend to achieve the following goals:
* To create and maintain friendship among all alumni of the Ecole Nationale de l'Aviation Civile;
* To promote the personal and professional development of the members;
* To contribute to the development of aeronautics and air transportation worldwide;
* To provide continuing education in aviation and space;
* To defend the ENAC degrees and promote them abroad;
* To promote the brand and programs of ENAC;
* To support ENAC in its missions;
* To serve the alumni community and provide support and assistance to members in need.
In order to achieve these missions, ENAC Alumni participates in celebrations such as ENAC's graduation ceremonies, provides speakers to ENAC, creates local chapters and think tanks, contributes to the promotion of aviation careers, and holds events such as The State of the Air (Les Etats de l'Air). ENAC Alumni is responsible for maintaining the registry of the alumni of ENAC.
ENAC Alumni is a member of the Conférence des Grandes Écoles that represents the colleges of engineering in France.

## National and regional chapters

ENAC Alumni has several chapters around the world that bring together alumni and students and serve these communities with local actions and programs. These chapters are groups within the association. As of December 2021, the international network counted 40 chapters. In October 2022, ENAC Alumni's network of chapters and liaisons achieved global coverage with 51 chapters.

### ENAC Alumni USA

The U.S. chapter of ENAC Alumni was founded in December 2018. 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. 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.

## Aviation think tanks

ENAC Alumni has professional think tanks conducting research projects and holding round tables aiming to advancing aviation and space in various domains:
* Aircraft & System Think Tank
* Airline Operations Think Tank
* Airport Think Tank
* ATM Think Tank
* Contractors Think Tank
* Digital Innovation Think Tank
* Legal Affairs Think Tank
* Maintenance (MRO) Think Tank
* Pilots Think Tank
* Safety & Compliance Think Tank
* Space Think Tank
* Sustainable Development Think Tank

### Airport Think Tank

The Airport Think Tank is chaired by Gaël Le Bris. With over 100 members, it is one of the largest think tanks of ENAC Alumni. 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. The think tank has also released a guidance on COVID-19.

## Industrial and institutional partners

According to the website of ENAC Alumni, the key partners of the association are the following:
* Airbus Group
* Airexpo
* Akka Technologies
* Conférence des grandes écoles
* Elles Bougent
* ENAC
* ENVOL JE
* France Aviation Civile Services
* Ingénieurs et scientifiques de France
* Luxair
* TBS Alumni
Also, ENAC Alumni supports various student initiatives such as the annual air show Airexpo organized jointly with the Institut Supérieur de l'Aéronautique et de l'Espace community. The association is a partner of the Aeronautical literary festival.

## Organization

ENAC Alumni is administered by volunteers, working in close collaboration with the university administration and third party organizations. 20 members of the Board of Administrators are elected by the contributing members of the association. The results are proclaimed every year during the annual general assembly of the association. Members of the Board have 2-year mandates, and half of the seats are on the ballot every year. During the general assembly, the new Board of Administrators appoints the Executive Board.
Additionally, the association has project/program managers, as well as chairs and vice chairs for the chapters and think tanks. Estelle Tréville is the Communications and Network Manager of ENAC Alumni as a full-time employee.

### Board of Administrators

* Marc Houalla, President since March 2018
* Faude Adanhounsounou, Vice President
* Elena Djakovitch, Vice President
* Gaël Le Bris, Vice President
* Paul Leparoux, Treasurer
* Arnaud Francq, Deputy Treasurer
* Julie Cabanel, Secretary
* Damien Gaudin, Deputy Secretary
* Glawdys Flora Akete Oyono, Member of the Board
* Eva Carillet, Member of the Board
* Anne Cotel-Ballot, Member of the Board
* Philippe Fonta, Member of the Board
* Adrien Martin, Member of the Board
* Isabelle Monnier, Member of the Board
* Loup-Giang Nguyen, Member of the Board
* Léa Pineau, Member of the Board
* Jean Marc de Raffin Dourny, Member of the Board
* Antoine Roehri, Member of the Board
* Christelle Schoeffel, Member of the Board
* Nabil Tahiri, Member of the Board
The President and Vice Presidents, as well as the Treasurer, Secretary, and their deputies are the Executive Board of ENAC Alumni.

## Publications and communications

The think tanks of the association have produced strategic and technical white papers on various topics including airport resiliency in the era of COVID-19 and the 11-paper series The Future of Airports: A Vision of 2040 and 2070.
ENAC Alumni has published ENAC Alumni Magazine since 2014. This publication is the successor of the Transpondeur of IngENAC. The association is also active on social media and especially on Facebook, Twitter, Mastodon, and LinkedIn.

## 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.