Up to 180,000 students will learn how to operate drones

The number of students studying at Russian universities to become specialists in the field of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) is planned to increase to 40,000 by 2025 and to 180,000 by 2030. A representative of the press service of the Ministry of Education and Science told Vedomosti about this, adding: that the government plans to increase the number of specialists in the field of ALS to 1 million people. According to him, universities are now actively participating in the development of drones for engineering centers and laboratories.

Education Minister Valery Falkov told Vedomosti that the department pays special attention to projects on unmanned systems for all spheres of life. According to him, for this it is necessary to create new conditions for the training of engineers who receive key practical knowledge while studying at the university. “This experience will allow them to become sought-after graduates ready to immediately join the work of the enterprise,” he added.

The Moscow Aviation Institute (MAI) is conducting developments for the agricultural-industrial complex. One of them is the multi-rotor (helicopter) drone “Agrodron”: in 12 minutes of flight it is capable of treating up to 17 hectares of fields with a pesticide solution. Another MAI development is the Agroscout UAS for automatic survey of agricultural fields. Upon completion of the shooting, the photo is processed by artificial intelligence, which analyzes the condition of the crops, identifies the presence of weeds and then gives its conclusion and recommendations.

“The university is implementing a strategic project to develop a new air mobility market: we are modeling services using UAS, including developing technical solutions in the interests of large domestic companies, creating a scientific and technological basis for the creation and integration of unmanned aircraft systems,” explained Vedomosti. Rector of the university Mikhail Pogosyan.

Tomsk State University (TSU) is developing a drone “DUSya” (remotely controlled system), which is capable of moving through snow, water, swampy and wooded areas. As a representative of the Ministry of Education and Science notes, the robot exerts minimal pressure on the ground, thanks to which it is able to move through dangerous territory, survey the area and participate in the neutralization of objects. “DUSyu”, according to the Ministry of Education and Science, will be able to use the Ministry of Emergency Situations to search and rescue victims.

At the Southern Federal University (SFU), enrollment is underway for additional professional education, after which graduates receive special knowledge and skills in the field of UAS, including design, engineering and programming, said Doctor of Technical Sciences, Director of the Advanced Engineering School of SFU Igor Lysenko.

After the start of the special operation, drones began to play a significant role; this happened for the first time on such a massive scale, notes Fedor Borisov, chief expert at the Institute of Transport Economics and Transport Policy at the Higher School of Economics. “It is important to understand how quickly the civilian segment will develop and what technologies will dominate there. Whether the drones will be piloted from the outside or whether they will start working autonomously is an important question,” Borisov emphasizes. Now many regions have banned the launch of drones, in such conditions it is difficult for the civilian drone sector to develop: the basic condition is the execution of flights.

Nikita Danilov, CEO and founder of the Fly Drone company, notes that university graduates specializing in the development of unmanned equipment and software are in demand on the market. This, according to Danilov, is dictated by the demand for unmanned aircraft services, which was postponed until the completion of the special operation, “for which we must prepare now.” “The qualifications of graduates do not in all cases correspond to the real needs of business. In order to bring it in line with the needs of companies, educational institutions need to closely interact with the main market players,” he points out.

Most often, additional training is needed by engineering personnel. There is a particularly shortage of mid-level technical professionals in the drone market, agrees Rusdronoport CEO Nikolai Ryashin. Engineers, designers and mechanics are especially in demand now. “Here we need the classic path – first an internship, then entering production. We are ready to take on technical students for internships: in the summer we had five students on internships, one of them is now working almost full-time,” Ryashin points out.

The head of the Center for Unmanned Aviation “Operator-UPLA.rf” Maxim Kondratyev believes that now the market is in greater demand for specialists with experience, who have accident-free flight hours, to solve specific problems. Graduates of universities and colleges, according to him, have superficial knowledge, “often far from reality,” and they require additional training. “The lack of a technical base, qualified teachers, and modern techniques leads to extremely ineffective learning results. Graduates of private training centers who have experience in solving business and government problems, the necessary competencies, equipment and technologies are more in demand,” he points out.

Vyacheslav Chupin, a member of the General Council of Business Russia, believes that there is an acute shortage of radio electronics engineers in the drone market. “Here we are talking about a short training program, and not about years, as is the case with designers and engineers. In addition, in this area we do not see any age restrictions – both students and adults can learn to fly drones,” he concluded.