The Unmanned Safety Institute (USI) has partnered with Drone Nerds to provide cost-effective solutions for drone technology and fleet management for USI’s STEAM education programs and collegiate workforce development programs nationwide.
USI and Drone Nerds will offer Career Cluster Kits that are designed to provide the technology hardware, sensor, and software being utilized in specific industries so that Career and Technical Education Programs across the country can offer drone education that prepares students for industry-specific sectors.
The strategic partnership provides a turnkey solution for academia K-16 to implement industry relevant technology, curriculum, and certifications. Programs range from short courses for implementation into existing course frameworks to standalone 12 College Credits courses with state approved frameworks. The turnkey solution framework also provides maintenance solutions to keep a classroom flying in the event that a drone is no longer airworthy.
“USI’s partnership with Drone Nerds supports USI’s international footprint to provide relevant technology, curriculum, and content to enhance instructor professional development and create local qualified workforces with the highest standards in the industry,” said Josh Olds, President of Unmanned Safety Institute. “This partnership simplifies the entire process for any K-16 educational entity to implement, operate, and maintain a drone education program, so that the school can work with proven curriculum, relevant hardware and sensor technology, and the highest quality fleet management, technical support, and repair service to address needs that arise during the delivery of the program.”
The Unmanned Safety Institute has developed scalable academic programs over the last four years which have been implemented in high schools, colleges, universities, and technical institutes across the country.
USI’s programs include the Small UAS Ground School, an instructor driven, self-paced, or hybrid program that sets the foundation of required aeronautical knowledge for remote pilots of UAS less than 55 pounds that are interested in obtaining their Part 107 Remote Pilot’s license for commercial operations. The curriculum addresses all pertinent aeronautical knowledge factors outlined by the FAA for the Unmanned Aircraft General (UAG) examination and augments those with safety concepts and practices to develop well-informed and responsible remote pilots.
The Small UAS Safety Certification™ is comprised of four courses with optional ACE Credit Recommended 12 college credits. Students who successfully complete the program are eligible to take USI’s credentialing exam leading to the Small UAS Safety Certification, an industry certification demonstrating expertise in the safe and professional application of remotely piloted aircraft making them highly qualified for careers in the burgeoning industry of Unmanned Aircraft Systems, commonly referred to as “drones.” To date, more than 5,000 students have successfully completed the program which has already been approved by several State Departments of Education.
USI’s Visual Line-of-Sight System Operations™ program is a system of practical flight safety instruction which includes drone flight safety curricula, frameworks, instructor training, courseware, instructional delivery methods, simulation, and testing and evaluation procedures. The program ensures that each crewmember becomes educated, standardized, and adequately trained for aircraft utilized in particular industry clusters. Learner obtains a practical understanding of checklists, flows, site survey, mission planning, safety and risk management, and more.
