The public can learn the history, basics and engineering of unmanned aircraft systems through two free online courses offered by the University of Alaska Fairbanks Center for Teaching and Learning.
“This is an exciting time in Alaska as the state works to build a drone economy, and UAF has a lot to offer to help achieve that goal,” said Matthew Balazs, research assistant professor at the UAF Geophysical Institute who helped create the courses.
The first of those two courses, Unmanned Aerial Systems: Fundamentals, became available in 2023. The second course, Unmanned Aerial Systems: Operations, became available in October 2024.
The two courses already have a combined global enrollment of about 4,000 students, with 20 percent enrolled from within the United States. Enrollment at UAF is not required in order to take the courses.
“We have high school, undergraduate and master’s students, as well as professionals in the workplace,” Balazs said.
The self-paced online courses consist of three modules each. Those who successfully complete both courses will receive a professional certificate in unmanned aerial systems.
The first course teaches the fundamentals of unmanned aerial systems, including terminology, types of platforms and sensors, flight physics, and selection of an aircraft for specific applications.
“We go into the history of unmanned aircraft, all the way back to balloons and kites,” Balazs said. “There are some really cool videos, including what I call our crown jewel, the ‘The History of Unmanned Aerial Systems.’”
“We’ll talk a lot about applications, and that’s where we highlight a lot of the work by UAF researchers,” he said.
The second course covers the use of unmanned aerial systems for research, industrial work, surveying, emergency response and commercial purposes.
Students will learn mission planning, including regulations, certifications and flight safety; logistical support and crew resource management; principles of aerial surveying; and how to incorporate ground control and conduct accuracy assessments. They will also learn how terrain and flight conditions affect data acquisition.
Andrew Wentworth, who codeveloped the content and is a lead instructor, said the courses supplement related programs at UAF and its Community and Technical College. Those include a degree program in aerospace engineering with a concentration in unmanned aircraft systems.
Wentworth is with the Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration, a unit of the Geophysical Institute.
“The two free courses benefit Alaska by establishing UAF as a global leader in unmanned aircraft systems education and helping our workforce meet their local community needs,” he said.
Creation of the courses was a collaboration among the Geophysical Institute, Center for Teaching and Learning, Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration, Alaska Coastal Cooperative, International Arctic Research Center, College of Natural Science and Mathematics, and Institute of Northern Engineering.
The team included researchers, staff, a current graduate student, a former student working at Boeing, and several outside entities, including curricu.me Inc., Northern Embedded Solutions, Austrian Service for Torrent and Avalanche Control, and the University of Graz, Austria.
“This was a colossal team effort to make that happen,” Balazs said.
Sean Holland, associate director of learning innovation at the Center for Teaching and Learning, said the course content is designed to be broadly applicable. The courses are not intended as preparatory for test-taking, such as for the Federal Aviation Administration Part 107 exam.
“Whether you’re a law enforcement officer, a disaster emergency responder, or if you have a construction business, a survey business — the courses are good for any drone application you can think of,” Holland said.
