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| Mechanical Engineering students (from left) Ryan Fordham, Justin Smith and Aaron Smith work on a drone |
ALFRED, NY – Alfred University will use $150,000 in federal funding from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), and also contribute $150,000 in in-kind funding, to develop a new course that provides instruction in the repair, maintenance, and operation of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), or drones, while also teaching students about business and job opportunities in the drone field.
The new three-credit course, UAV Engineering and Entrepreneurship, will be offered jointly by the Inamori School of Engineering and the College of Business. Offered during the spring 2019 semester, the course will consist of a two-credit hour class on entrepreneurship and a one-credit hour lab which will lead to an opportunity to be licensed as a drone pilot.
Students in engineering and business who complete the two courses have an opportunity to conduct field work during the summer of 2019, aimed at assisting local farmers. Students will fly drones over fields during pre-planting, planting, growth, harvest, and post-harvest activities. Data gathered in the fly-overs will be managed and analyzed by students, with the findings shared with farmers. Those findings will be used by farmers to enhance their operations, increasing and improving crop yield.
ARC, in a statement announcing the grant, said “the development of the drone program at Alfred University is driven by the need to address challenges to economic growth in the Appalachian region. The program represents an opportunity to diversify the economy by providing students and workers with skills that are becoming more valuable in a newer field as the commercial industry learns to apply drone/UAV technology.”
In addition to Alfred University students, non-student workers drawn from the local area will also have the opportunity to enroll in the program. They won’t earn credits, but rather will be awarded certificates, and be given a chance to obtain a drone pilot’s license.
Kim LaMendola is regional development coordinator for Southern Tier West Regional Planning and Development Board, a local development district serving Chautauqua, Cattaraugus and Allegany counties. Southern Tier West partners with the New York State Department of State to provide initial review of ARC grant proposals, and assists the ARC in advancing its priorities for rural areas, which include workforce and economic development and education/training initiatives.
“These are projects that fill a need, or leverage an opportunity,” LaMendola said. “We look to build on existing assets, such as a workforce that needs a re-tooling of its skills, or create new programs for colleges and universities. The Alfred University drone program does both.”
Industries and commercial entities which use drone technology are many, and include: insurance, surveying, inspection services, construction, first aid delivery, data collection, video and photography, and marketing and entertainment. Participation in the drone program at Alfred University could lead to job opportunities in one of these fields, or the establishment of businesses that provide drone-based services.
“This is something, a valuable skill, that students will be able to put on their resumes,” commented Luis Rodriguez, assistant professor of law and taxation in the Alfred University College of Business.
Rodriguez, Sangjoon Lee, professor of economics, and Seong-Jin Lee, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, are the faculty group behind the effort to develop the new drone program, which grew from student interest from the University’s Drone Club, which was formed in 2015 as a collaboration of business and engineering students.
Sangjoon Lee will teach the entrepreneurship class, which will focus on developing a business model as it would apply to drone-assisted agricultural data collection. In addition to weekly lectures, students will receive instruction in the computer lab using business simulation software. “This will be a real business world experience. They (students) will be trained to be entrepreneurs,” he said.
By having students from each discipline work together in teams – both in the classroom and lab setting – they will gain appreciation of how business and engineering can be tied together.
“Our hope and vision is we give engineering students a chance to have a business education, so they understand how to commercialize their innovation. And we want the business students to understand the innovation process,” Sangjoon Lee said. “Business and engineering students will work together and communicate together. It gives each group (of students) a better understanding of what the other group does.”
Seong-Jin Lee will oversee the first half of the lab, which will focus on the drone/UAV technology: how they are made and their functionality; repair and maintenance. “I’ll be teaching theory of drone flight, such as aerodynamics, and structure (of drones),” he said.
The second half of the lab will involve drone operation, with instruction provided by a certified “chief drone pilot.” Students and non-student participants who complete the lab portion of the program will be eligible to take the examination required to become licensed as a drone pilot where the grant will cover the $150 fee for taking the exam.
“Our hope is that everyone (who participates in the program) gets a pilot’s license,” Rodriguez said, adding that the faculty envisions the experience being attractive to potential employers. “This is unique and timely, and it’s a way to set (students) apart and show what they are learning is practical and relevant.”
