Unmanned Aircraft Systems Operations and Maintenance Education and Training Project

新泽西州大西洋角社区学院的无人机系统操作和维护培训项目旨在推进小型商用无人机系统（UAS）快速发展和至关重要领域的技术人员教育和培训。为此，该项目计划开发一种新的学术课程，将学生培养为小型无人机的操作、维护和维修技术人员。通过实地考察和全国指导委员会，该项目将与雇主合作，确定当前和未来对技术人员的需求。它将利用这些信息创建一个符合雇主、制造商和监管机构期望的副学士学位课程。这一新课程将有利于直接参与无人机行业的雇主，以及农业、保险、房地产、公用事业、建筑、媒体和执法/公共安全等其他领域的雇主。项目成果将与其他对培训无人机技术人员感兴趣的社区和技术学院分享，特别关注那些希望开发航空技术人员计划或加强现有产品的学院的能力建设。该项目将对所有学生进行创业原则和技能培训，并支持女学生的入学和留用，从而促进技术劳动力的多样化。该项目旨在为新泽西州南部地区培养一批训练有素的技术人员，该地区的政策制定者和政府机构正在鼓励发展强大的无人机工业。该项目将定义技术人员维护、升级或修理小型无人机所需的技能和知识，并制定创新的学术计划，以促进必要的学生学习。课程开发将采用系统的方法进行教学设计，基于迪克和凯里模型的教学模型。这种方法包括定义需求、受众、学生需要掌握的任务，以及规划学生评估和课程/项目评估。课程将包括航空规则、航空天气、航空知识、机械/电子工程、地理空间数据收集和计算机科学等方面的教育和培训。课程还将包括研究人员确定的UAS技术人员的三个能力领域：硬件、软件、文档和人员问题。无人机制造商和雇主将提供投入，以确保该计划教育熟练的技术人员，他们可以遵守美国联邦航空局关于在国家空域系统中安全操作小型无人机的规定。行业专家得出结论，建立无人机维护知识库的最大障碍是缺乏无人机维护文档。该项目将通过促进制造商之间更多的信息共享来解决这一障碍。项目负责人在UAS行业拥有广泛的专业联系和合作者，以及工程课程开发方面的管理经验和专业知识。该项目计划以学院现有的航空项目为基础，为教师提供资源（如设备、教学空间、行政支持）、新设备的可持续来源和持续的专业发展机会。其他学术机构，包括罗格斯大学、新泽西理工学院和阿肯色-史密斯堡大学，将为课程和相关项目活动提供投入。此外，为了使该项目能够建立在现有的无人机技术培训专业知识和经验的基础上，项目负责人将实地考察其他有活跃的无人机培训项目的社区学院，包括俄亥俄州的辛克莱社区学院和明尼苏达州的诺斯兰德社区技术学院。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The Unmanned Aircraft Systems Operations and Maintenance Training Project at Atlantic Cape Community College in New Jersey aims to advance technician education and training in the rapidly evolving and critically important field of small commercial unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). To this end, this project plans to develop a curriculum for a new academic program that will prepare students to work as technicians in operation, maintenance, and repair of small UAS. Through site visits and a national steering committee, the project will work with employers to identify current and future needs for technicians. It will use this information to create an associate degree program that aligns with the expectations of employers, manufacturers, and regulatory agencies. This new curriculum could benefit employers involved directly in the UAS industry, as well as employers in other fields such as agriculture, insurance, real estate, utilities, construction, media, and law enforcement/public safety. Project results will be shared with other community and technical colleges interested in training UAS technicians, with a special focus on building capacity for colleges that wish to develop an aviation technician program or to enhance current offerings. The project will promote diversity in the technical workforce by training all students in entrepreneurial principles and skills, and by supporting enrollment and retention of female students. The project aims to create a pool of trained technicians available for work in southern New Jersey, a region in which policymakers and government agencies are encouraging development of a robust UAS industry.The project will define the skills and knowledge needed to enable a technician to maintain, upgrade, or repair a small UAS, and develop an innovative academic program that promotes the requisite student learning. Curriculum development will use a systematic approach to instructional design, based on the Dick and Carey model instructional model. This approach includes defining the needs, the audience, the tasks that students will need to master, as well as planning for student assessment and course/program evaluation. The curriculum will include education and training in aviation regulation, aviation weather, aeronautical knowledge, mechanical/electronic engineering, geospatial data collection, and computer science. The curriculum will also include three competency areas that researchers have identified for UAS technicians: hardware, software, and documentation and personnel issues. Drone manufacturers and employers will provide input to ensure that the program educates skilled technicians who can comply with FAA regulations for safe operation of small drones in the national airspace system. Industry experts conclude that the largest barrier in building a UAS maintenance knowledge base is lack of maintenance documentation for drones. The project will address this barrier by facilitating greater information-sharing by manufacturers. Project leaders have extensive professional contacts and collaborators in the UAS industry, as well as administrative experience and expertise in engineering curriculum development. The project plans to build on an existing aviation program at the college that can provide resources (e.g., equipment; teaching space; administrative support) and a sustainable source of new equipment and ongoing professional development opportunities for faculty. Other academic institutions, including Rutgers University, New Jersey Institute of Technology, and the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith, will provide input on the curriculum and related project activities. In addition, so that this program can build on existing expertise and experience in UAS technician training, the project leaders will make site visits to other community colleges with active UAS training programs, including Sinclair Community College in Ohio and Northland Community and Technical College in Minnesota.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.