Drone Studies Becomes a Subject in 25 New South Wales Schools

From 2018, 25 high schools in New South Wales will offer drone flying as a higher school certificate subject. This is the first state in Australia to introduce this subject, and its objective is to prepare students for future jobs which will use drone technology. It is being introduced as a new subject after a successful 12 month trial.

One of the schools to provide this opportunity is Northmead Creative and Performing Arts High School. The General Manager Ashley Cox said the course is delivered at a level that is high enough to provide students with practical skills. Training will be provided by UAVAir.

“I feel like this might be an important skill to qualify me for the workforce,” said Alysha Mriz, a drone studies student. Another student Chris Fias-Ayon said “Soon enough they’ll be used for delivering food and delivering goods and services to people.”

With drone technology continuing to evolve, these New South Wales schools are aiming to teach students valuable skills that will be usable and perhaps even necessary in the future. The workforce is expected to look very different by the time these kids graduate, and drones are already being used in numerous industries, including mining, water management and biomechanics.

Here in New Zealand, we have recently seen the introduction of drones on beaches to assist lifeguards, in the forestry industry to assist workers and in many other industries. Drones have changed their image from a hobby toy to a highly sought after tool, or ‘employee’, although hobbyists still enjoy flying drones for recreational purposes.

Anyone is allowed to pilot a drone, as long as they adhere to the New Zealand Civil Aviation Rules. These include not operating an aircraft that is 25kg or larger, flying only in daylight and not flying closer than 4km from any aerodome. These rules are in place to keep all remotely controlled aircrafts under control.

New Zealand schools are yet to introduce drone studies as part of its curriculum, but drone enthusiasts can learn for themselves. RC Hobbies is a drone shop in Auckland that specialises in radio control helicopters, planes, quadcopters, cars, plastic models, parts, fuel and more. Students can teach themselves or join a group to fly drones with other enthusiasts.

As they are becoming increasingly popular, it’s easy to find an RC plane or RC cars for sale in NZ. People of all ages could benefit from learning how to fly a drone, and with Australia leading the way for education, it seems possible that New Zealand will soon follow suit.