'The Titans of Industry Workshop' that was held June 26-27 and organized by the Nevada Governor's Office of Economic Development, the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance, and the Nevada System of Higher Education, aims to introduce degrees in drone studies, probably in University of Nevada-Las Vegas and University of Nevada-Reno.
Several unmanned aerial vehicle industries have expressed their interest to work with these two universities to train new people for jobs in the next five years.
Nevada Colleges are not the first higher education institutions planning to set up Drone programs. Similar courses have already been introduced in other states including Kansas State University and the University of North Dakota. The programs are also in consideration at schools in Alaska, Florida, and Arizona.
North Dakota introduced two four-year degree programs in 2010, one of them focuses on creating more drone pilots and the second program to create additional drone development professionals equipped with knowledge on sensor equipment, meteorology, and aviation-specific mechanical engineering. In order to apply for the North Dakota program, prospective students need to have Commercial Pilot Certification.
Nevada government and education authorities will meet to develop the degree programs and certification plans in the near future. The components in the Nevada Drone program are still unknown, but it is expected to be similar to North Dakota.
If drones becomes a $82 billion industry by 2025 (estimated goal by the industry experts), states like North Dakota, Kansas and Nevada will be the major areas that would supply the industry with technically skilled young people.
