Aerotecnica Missili & Spazio, The Journal of Aerospace Science, Technology and Systems National Qualification Frameworks for Aerospace Engineering Education in Western Europe and in the Russian Federation: the AIRQUAL Project 2009-11 * G. Chiocchia a , M. Gola b , G. Guglieri c a Politecnico di Torino (retired professor) b Politecnico di Torino (retired professor, former Vice-rector for Quality) c Politecnico di Torino, Dipartimento di Ingegneria Meccanica e Aerospaziale, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Torino (Italy) Abstract As one of the Bologna Process countries, Russia committed herself to a number of reforms carried out within the Bologna Action Lines, among which are the introduction of 3 cycle system of higher education, National Qualifications Frameworks development, mobility issues, ECTS implementation and Quality Assurance. The AIRQUAL project (a TEMPUS project funded by the EU Commission) attempted to develop a common qualifications language for Aerospace Engineering academic courses as well as to ensure international comparability among the Russian Federation and three West European countries. These were France, Italy and Sweden, all represented by academic institutions belonging to the PEGASUS Network. In doing this AIRQUAL provided a benchmark for the application in a broader geographical context of a Quality Assurance method based on the comparison of functions / competences and learning outcomes. 1. Introduction Due to a lack of updated curricula in AE, which are not competence-based but too much input-oriented, employers from the aerospace industry do not have a sufficient access to highly qualified graduates. In order to realize an efficient input from the univer- sity and a proficient output for the industry, the former ones should design their curricula according to the re- quirements for each professional profile. Hence, the corresponding competences and functions required for all profiles must be in line with the learning outcomes for courses offered at the universities in order to re- spond effectively to the real needs of the industry. The AIRQUAL project (supported by the EU Com- mission in the frame of the TEMPUS project and cov- ering the years 2009-11), which set his acronym for the Development of QUALification Frameworks in the field of AIRcraft Engineering, aimed to provide ref- erence points – the Learning Outcomes – for the as- * Based on paper presented at the XXIV Congresso Nazionale AIDAA, Settembre 2017 Palermo, Italia 1 c AIDAA, Associazione Italiana di Aeronautica e Astronautica sessment of university programmes in Aerospace En- gineering for Bachelors and Masters cycles. A second aim of AIRQUAL was that to deploy Eu- ropean principles and mechanisms elaborated within the Bologna reforms in the Russian system of higher education. To do this it relied on the experience in Qualification Frameworks (QF) and QF-based curric- ula development of four EU Partners selected among those belonging to the PEGASUS Network: • Politecnico di Torino, Italy • Ecole Nationale Superieure de Mecanique et d’Aerotechnique (ENSMA), Poitiers, France • Ecole Nationale de l’Aviation Civile (ENAC), Toulouse, France • Kungl. Tekniska Hoegskolan (KTH), Stockholm, Sweden On the Russian side, the participating academic insti- tutions were three: • Kazan State Technical University • Ufa State Aviation Technical University 110