About us

Welcome to CESDA. I am pleased to introduce an educational project we are very proud of. The project is the result of hard work and dedication and has been designed to train university graduates in the field of aviation. The university education of future professional pilots is a pioneering idea in our country, and in Europe, and has amply demonstrated its suitability as our graduates are now pursuing successful careers in the profession worldwide. At CESDA we aim to help improve teaching methods in the highly specialized field of aviation in which training requirements are tightly regulated by international standards.

Our Centre works towards the holistic development of our students as individuals so they can successfully join a highly competitive sector which demands highly ethical behaviour. Innovative and active, pilot training at our Centre has been conceived as one of the basic pillars of the sound, balanced and sustainable future development of the aviation sector in our country. Our project, CESDA, aims to respond to these needs. And proof of its success is the fact that dozens of pilots trained at CESDA are now working worldwide, with an aviation sector employment rate of over 70%.

Right now you are taking your first steps in aeronautics and CESDA wants to be by your side. We hope the information you find here is useful and we open our doors to offer you the university education you need to successfully complete your aviation training.

CESDA is the only commercial aviation pilot training centre which offers an official university degree: the Commercial Airline Pilot and Air Operations Degree. In addition to this degree, our Centre also offers a Degree in Airline Business Management and Air Operations and other modular courses and qualifications; we are a centre with a wide variety of training options.

CESDA is located in an excellent environment for flight training. Our location near Reus International Airport allows take-offs and landings in instrument conditions. We have a modern fleet of aircraft for flight training and flight simulators for cockpit training.

The very low ratio of students per teacher represents a better use of the school and greater control over students’ development. On beginning their studies, students are assigned a mentor who is responsible for coaching them throughout their studies. These personalized tutorials are of great interest to the students in facilitating their adaptation to university life and to the different phases of flight.

CESDA has become a centre of reference in training state-wide since it began operating in 2001. The fact that CESDA is an affiliated centre of the Universitat Rovira i Virgili, combines proven aviation and flight training with a solid humanistic university education.

CESDA was the first university training centre for commercial aviation pilots to be created in Spain. It was established in 2001 to boost the professional sector (Association of Commercial Aviation Pilots, COPAC), government (Generalitat de Catalunya and Reus City Council) and enjoys the support of universities (Universitat Rovira i Virgili). Currently, the Centre is managed by the Fundació Rego, a non-profit foundation whose goal is to develop an innovative pilot training centre in line with current needs.

CESDA’s university facilities are located on the Reus Aeronautical Campus, which has an approximate area of 80,000 m2. The area enjoys a micro-climate well suited for aviation operations with the necessary continuity. In addition, the city of Reus, near the campus, is at the heart of a powerful core of economic and social development, which has a very dynamic university environment and a truly enriching cultural life. The excellent communications Reus and its surrounding area enjoy, by land, sea and air, have placed the region in an optimal position. This explains why the project has been able to move forward strongly in an area full of possibilities.

The location of the campus enables an agile relationship between classroom and laboratory activities and the flight operations area, where the actual flight training takes place.

CESDA has the facilities and equipment to offer customized teaching based on excellence. The following stand out:

• Small groups in each classroom, for the optimum use and customization of each basic training unit.
• Classrooms with internet access and laboratories with the latest technologies. On enrollment students are given a personal computer as an aid to their academic work, as well as for web-based simulation practice of navigation and air traffic control.
• Teaching materials for students accessible through an academic intra-net portal.
• Library with an updated bibliography including text books, technical and trade journals and airplanes manuals.
• Modern, safe fleet of latest generation aircraft.

In addition, as an affiliated centre of the Universitat Rovira i Virgili, CESDA can access the services of the university such as the virtual loan service for publications across the network of university libraries, and the interlibrary loan facility.