Challenging to graduate engineering education is extraordinary. Engineering schools must prepare PhD students to work in transnational settings, with scientists and researchers located across the globe, in order to increase the world's capacity for solving global problems and meeting human needs. This paper presents an innovative project, financed by the European Union, that aims at promoting quality research in aeronautics and global PhD education by fostering and financing Doctoral (PhD) level research, involving the participation of leading universities, research centres and the Air Traffic Management industry, through a collaborative research Network called HALA!. The paper presents the educational benefits of this innovative initiative stating how the network is structure and managed, the main activities carried out within the network to develop PhD excellence and the main results achieved so far.