Today, with the assistance of Dean Nancy Evangelista, faculty of the Alfred University School of Business, and the Alfred University Engineering School presented a grant proposal before the Appalachian Regional Commission for using drones to gather agricultural data, and for workforce development.
The goals of the grant are increase new regional jobs and/or introduce new skills for old jobs and/or create new businesses that use drone technology. We propose to achieve these goals by combining theory and practice:
- Theory: creating an educational program that teaches drone flight/repair/maintenance skills, as well as the business/entrepreneurship skills needed to create a sustainable business; and,
- Practice: using drones to obtain agricultural data to help local farmers increase their crop health and yield.
Hopefully our project will receive funding – wish us luck!