The Virginia Space Grant Consortium (VSGC) is pleased to announce a partnership with Women And Drones. VSGC leads and administers the GeoTEd-UAS project funded by the National Science Foundation Advanced Technological Education (NSF-ATE) program. The project’s mission is to train the future small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) operator technician and geospatial technician workforce. The organizations will work together to engage more women in the field of sUAS and other STEM education and workforce development programs.
“We are excited about this amazing partnership with Women and Drones! The ability to leverage their network and engage with industry leaders in the drone industry from across the nation will improve our ability to train the future workforce,” stated Chris Carter, VSGC Deputy Director. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics, women currently make up only 28% of the workforce in science, technology, engineering, and math. The common goal between the organizations is to provide women equal opportunities to pursue and thrive in STEM careers, specifically geospatial science and the growing unmanned aircraft systems industry.
“This partnership strengthens our commitment to connecting business and education to fuel the pipeline with more women in STEM and aviation” explained Women and Drones’ CEO and Founder, Sharon Rossmark.
Many jobs of the future are dependent upon people with a higher degree of skill in STEM disciplines, including aerospace and technology. Women And Drones, together with the VSGC and GeoTEd-UAS will work together to improve female representation in that workforce of the future. Women and Drones will support the GeoTEd-UAS project by providing subject matter experts to speak during professional development institutes and webinars offered by the project. These female and minority business leaders, pilots, and data analysis experts will serve as excellent role models for educators and students participating in the project. Women and Drones will also facilitate connections between the project team and drone manufacturers and industry leaders.
The GeoTEd-UAS team integrates faculty and student-service learning missions throughout the project. The team will share their experiences, partnerships, and data with Women and Drones to contribute to the knowledge and research base in UAS operations and workforce development.
For more information regarding GeoTEd-UAS click the link here, and more information on Women and Drones can be found here.