The National Science Foundation has awarded Mohawk Valley Community College (MVCC) a $557,487 grant to support a project in which MVCC will develop a series of “microcredentials” to increase the number of skilled technicians in the UAS industry, and ultimately address local workforce needs.

Over the next three years, MVCC will develop and implement five microcredentials made up of four courses each, which will provide students with “highly specialized, specific skills” without requiring completion of a full degree. The microcredentials are UAS Components, UAS Fabrication, UAS Operations, UAS Electronics, and UAS Data Analysis.

The grant money will also be used to launch two new degree programs: associate in applied science degrees in UAS Fabrication and UAS Electronics by innovating ways to merge the microcredentials into comprehensive and coherent packages.

“This timely project addresses the imminent, crucially important UAS workforce demands of the nation – demands that are foreshadowed by the current industry needs of the Mohawk Valley region of Upstate New York,” says Timothy Thomas, associate dean of the Physical Sciences, Engineering, and Applied Technologies Department at MVCC.

“Our region has become a national hub of drone technology research and development and, as such, we are observing an emerging need for UAS technicians with a specialized set of skills for working with remotely piloted systems.”

MVCC will also be able to use the grant to buy new equipment, including a microdrone; sensor packages that will enable agricultural and infrastructure inspection; and remote-sensing technology that emits light pulses, LIDAR.

MVCC says that this equipment, along with existing cutting-edge UAS technology that it already owns, will help students as they prepare for UAS careers in a variety of fields, including emergency services, inspections, and in the agricultural and consumer electronics industries.