UAS Program Development

Two big items stood out for me from my recent attendance at the annual ATE PI conference in Washington D.C.

Enrollment

First of all, just because we build it, doesn’t mean they will come. There is no doubt that drones are a wonderful attraction. Whenever I have a drone on display at a career day booth, the amount of interest generated is pretty impressive. In fact, upon discussing UAS programs with faculty from other institutions, they say the same thing. However, just because a drone is an attraction, doesn’t mean students will sign up for the program. I was surprised to learn that some of the more established drone programs across the nation had minimal enrollment. Their curriculum sounds good; their facilities seemed great, but these programs were still seemingly struggling with enrollment.

It is important to note that the drone industry, especially commercial usage, is still a relatively young market. As curators of UAS programs, we need to make sure that we are advertising the benefits of our program in terms of getting employment (and, make every effort to develop partnerships with companies specializing in either drone operation or manufacturing so that our students can get jobs in the industry upon graduation). In addition, we need to make sure that our programs are providing students with the necessary tools to be successful independent operators (if that is the path that they chose).

Curriculum

I learned that there are two very successful programs in UAS at the 2-year college: Sinclair Community College in Ohio, and Northland Community and Technical College in Minnesota. These programs share a few features: 1) They are directed by dedicated and determined faculty; 2) They have good funding and strong industry partnerships; and 3) They have foundational curriculum in all aspects of UAS, including UAS maintenance. These are points of reference that all developing UAS programs should be cognizant.