Sinclair forming drone partnership with Ohio State
Joe Cogliano Dayton Business Journal
Sinclair Community College and The Ohio State University will team up to work on the booming unmanned aerial systems industry.
The schools called a press conference on Monday morning in Dayton to unveil the partnership. It centers on developing a pathway from existing Sinclair UAS certificate and future UAS associate degree programs into Ohio State’s data analytics and geospatial precision agriculture programs.
Additionally, Ohio State students will have the opportunity to take general education courses and complete UAS technical courses at Sinclair, thereby earning a UAS certificate or degree through Sinclair.
The emerging UAS industry is expected to draw $90 billion in investments during the next decade and this latest partnership should help the Dayton region bolster its position.
Sinclair and Ohio State also plan to expand upon existing UAS resources in airspace by seeking a certificate of authorization to fly over OSU’s Don Scott Airport and the Molly Caren Agricultural Facility to provide new and innovative precision agriculture programming.
A recent report by the Office of the Inspector General puts the active certificates of authorization (COAs) in the nation at about 300. Sinclair has six; three each at Wilmington Air Park and Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport, and it’s looking to secure several more, including at the National Center for Medical Readiness in Fairborn.
Sinclair recently received $4 million in state funding to renovate and expand its physical location on the Dayton campus to support the mission of the National Center for UAS Training and Education.
The college has had a significant uptick in unmanned aerial system flights with about 70 flights in May and June of this year, a 90 percent increase from the same time in 2013. Last year, the school completed 100 UAS flights — and it’s close to surpassing that number already this year.
