A strategic session on designing the functioning of a network of Interregional Centres for Training Specialists in Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) was held at the venue of University 2035 in Moscow. The event brought together 33 organizations, winners of the open selection within the “Personnel for Unmanned Aircraft Systems” federal project. Among those was South Ural State University — the only university representing the entire Ural Federal District.
The status of an Interregional Training Centre (ITC) grants the university the authority to offer training in a broad range of UAS-related fields. These include not only drone piloting and operation, but also maintenance, repair, design, testing, manufacturing, and assembly. The program additionally covers drone-based data collection and analysis, legal support, project management, instructor training, as well as counter-UAS technologies (anti-drone systems) and interference-resistant communication channels.
During the session, participants were divided into four working laboratories. They discussed flexible educational pathways, development of professional competencies, participation formats in the “Drone Garage” project, and integration into the digital personnel registry for the UAS sector. The session concluded with a ceremony of awarding certificates confirming the status of an Interregional Training Centre.
“At the first stage, we sent informational letters and offered training opportunities to neighbouring regions: the Kurgan, Sverdlovsk, Perm, and Orenburg regions,” said Ekaterina Diatlova, Deputy Head of the SUSU Office for Support to Continuing Education. “So far, Rosreestr and Roskadastr offices from the Sverdlovsk and Kurgan regions have responded. They became interested in the project and would like to undergo training. We also received a request from the Ministry of the Russian Federation for Civil Defence, Emergencies and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters for the Perm Territory for a program focused on drone protection technologies. Rosreestr and Roskadastr, in their turn, are interested in piloting programmes: learning how to operate drones, take aerial photographs, create orthophoto maps, and carry out measurements of various objects, for example, to assess mineral reserves or measure forest areas. The second stage involves developing and coordinating educational programmes for these institutions. Once the programmes are approved, we will begin training: organizations from Chelyabinsk will study at the SUSU campus, as for other regions, our instructors will travel there to provide training on site.”
The main objective of the Centre is retraining and professional development for specialists already working in various organizations. These primarily include Roskadastr, Rosreestr, the Ministry of the Russian Federation for Civil Defence, Emergencies and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters, and forestry management authorities — institutions that already use unmanned technologies in their daily operations.