A meeting held at San Diego Miramar College earlier this year brought several colleges together to discuss how to advance the Advanced Transportation and Logistics (ATL) sector by promoting courses and internships in Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.
The San Diego Regional Unmanned Aerial Vehicle meeting was held in May and attended by representatives from San Diego State University and six of the region’s 10 community colleges: Palomar College, Miramar College, Grossmont College, Southwestern College, MiraCosta College, and San Diego City College.
The meeting focused on discussing the programs at each institution, dual enrollment and course equivalence opportunities, articulation between systems, as well as creating a regional database of contacts to facilitate internships and job opportunities across the region.
“The San Diego Drone Educators meeting was a wonderful opportunity for the colleges in the region to share their experiences and best practices in providing quality instruction and training in the burgeoning field of Drone Technology,” said Paolo Espaldon, grant coordinator at America’s Promise. “This collaborative approach to education continues to showcase the uniqueness of the region; and the engagement and the support that everyone at the table had for each other and their respective programs will only add to the success of our students, colleges, and the region as a whole.”
The event also included Regional Directors of Employer Engagement from the Business and Entrepreneurship and Advanced Manufacturing sectors.
Business and Entrepreneurship Regional Director Jennifer Patel discussed the ability to work with each college’s business and entrepreneurship programs to provide students with resources on how to start a small business. Many drone graduates go on to work as independent contractors and small business owners.
Patel will provide the drone faculty with the current study of the gig economy in San Diego, which has information about what types of skills independent contractors are looking for.
“These skills could be taught as part of the program, through the business department, or as a noncredit supplement,” Patel said.
ATL Regional Director Jonathan Kropp presented on the infographic project highlighting UAVs. Additionally, the colleges were invited to submit a proposal for a new drone funded by ATL.
Finally, the group discussed the idea of holding two regional events a year — a student-based competition and an expanded DroneCon conference in the fall. For more information, contact Jonathan Kropp at jkropp@sdccd.edu.
