Wake Tech and Elizabeth City State Univ. partner in program to attract students to "unmanned aircraft systems"

The demand for "unmanned aircraft systems", also known as "UAS" or "drones", is growing and that could mean more job opportunities.

Wake Technical Community College’s Dr. Scott Ralls signed a partnership with Elizabeth City State University’s chancellor Kerrie Dixon to prepare students for careers in fields like Aviation and Public Safety.

The sky’s the limit for students ready to claim that future.

At the signing ceremony, a drone lifted off to deliver signing documents to officials representing Wake Tech and ECSU.

Dr. Ralls said, "We’re going to have a biopharma simulation facility. We’ll have an emergency management simulation, but we have drone simulation as well."

The partnership includes working with public schools, especially in eastern Wake County at the new Wake Tech East campus in Wendell.

Elizabeth City State is the only university in the state offering an aviation education program. Chancellor Kerrie Dixon said, "Our collaboration allows us to develop opportunities for Wake Tech graduates to continue their education at ECSU by pursuing a degree in unmanned aircraft systems."

The new campus, which officially opens in 2024, will include a drone simulation lab. Graduates of the program will face a booming drone-based delivery system which includes transporting medical supplies.

Dr. Stuart Ginn with WakeMed Health & Hospitals said, "About 5 years ago, WakeMed Innovations had the opportunity to develop and deploy the first drone-based medical package delivery system in the country."

He said partners in DOT and the Federal Aviation Administration are interested in supporting operations on a larger scale and potentially at a lower cost.

Rebecca Gallas, director of the state’s Aviation Division, said, "North Carolina grew those dreams and those ideas into a $72-billion dollar industry that supports 330-thousand jobs throughout North Carolina."

17 unmanned aircraft serve Wake County Fire Services and Emergency Management with a growing demand. "Fire and emergency medical service had record-breaking increases in call volumes that added up to nearly 12-thousand calls from calendar year 21 to 22," said Darrell Alford with Wake County Fire Services and Emergency Management.

Specialized cameras with live-streaming capability can search for missing persons or fleeing criminals. Those are jobs ready for students to claim that future.