APEX Alberta with partners Community Futures Entre-Corp, Medicine Hat College, and Alberta Innovates announced the Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) initiative to industry stakeholders on Friday, June 17, 2022, to educate and further the conversation on how the funding will and could be used.

On May 13, 2022, APEX Alberta, along with other Regional Innovation Networks in the province, received $1.17 million in funding from Alberta Innovates over the span of three years, for a total of nearly $20 million across the province. Of that amount, APEX Alberta received $450,000 for the RPAS initiative.

Tracy Stroud, Regional Innovation Network Manager, Southeast Alberta, opened the event by focusing on the assets Southeast Alberta offers for the aerospace and defense industry. With the Foremost UAS Test Range, Defense Research and Development Canada, Canadian Forces and British Army Training Unit located in the region, it is clear that there are many important assets already in place.

“There were conversations throughout the year that made it obvious this sector was and is growing. We are excited for the opportunities here in Southeast Alberta, and we want to work together to continue to strengthen the growth of this industry both locally and across the rest of Alberta,” says Stroud.

Roger Haessel originally started with Community Futures Entre-Corp in 2011, where he worked with aerospace and defense companies, including one that would eventually evolve into the Foremost UAS Test Range.

“Here we are seven years later, APEX Alberta reaches out to me to see if I would be a part of the province-wide initiative starting in Southeast Alberta, revolving around the RPAS industry,” says Roger.

As more drones are noticed flying in the air for a variety of industries, Medicine Hat College has introduced a micro-credential UAV Drone Advanced Pilot Training course to help bridge the gap between industry and education. The hybrid program is a skill-based course where students earn a digital badge that can be used towards enhancing a degree or diploma.

But drones are only one aspect of the aerospace and defense industry, and the conversation shifted towards having available training and educational resources for people to learn to build, maintain, integrate, and sustain drone technology.

Specifically with drones, the mindset the group would like to see shift to is similar to when the internet was invented. People immediately thought of ways they could use the internet to benefit their respective businesses. Drones can be thought of in that exact way — they can be introduced to programs and industries like agriculture and film studies.

“Finding the niches where Alberta can compete and win, where there is opportunity and where we can make the biggest impact, is the ultimate goal,” says Roger. “To develop Alberta’s RPAS industry cluster and get everything in alignment with post-secondary, industry, and government, we can spark imagination instead of asking people what they already know.”

Medicine Hat College already practices integrated learning with their students, where a percentage of the course is bookwork and the other is where students learn hands-on experience by working with relevant businesses. The ability to connect students to industry is extremely accessible with the number of aerospace and defense-based businesses in the region and province.

Stroud says, “Transport Canada has issued over 51,000 RPAS Pilot certificates and Alberta is home to a disproportionate number of RPAS companies relative to the rest of the country, so we have more companies in Alberta by far.”

The development of the Alberta RPAS Industry Roadmap includes research and training with post-secondary, networking and training events, RPAS-related profiles, videos, and features, and the steps needed to create a RPAS tech-innovation hub.

To stay informed about RPAS in Alberta, you can find @APEXAlberta on Facebook and Twitter, and online at https://www.apexalberta.ca.