New drone degree a 'hugely exciting opportunity', says chief executive of Hereford's NMITE university
The university announced further details yesterday about the course which is due to start from this September, after previously confirming its new autonomous robotics degree in December
A new army funded 'drone degree' set to be launched at a Hereford-based university will give opportunities for people in the area as well as those in military, its chief executive has said.
The New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering (NMITE) held an event yesterday (21 January) along with the British Army to provide more information about what it's labelled as a 'ground-breaking' autonomous robotics degree.
An agreement was reached back in December between NMITE and the UK Armed Forces to develop the course, which will train 15 civilian students and up to five soldiers a year as drone technology specialists.
Supported by a £240,000 investment from the Ministry of Defence, it's set to welcome its first students in September this year.
The government said the conflict in Ukraine has "highlighted the growing threat posed by uncrewed devices" and it is "critical that the UK has both the specialist capability to meet that demand but also the power and authority to protect military sites from such threats".
NMITE CEO James Newby said: "It's a hugely exciting opportunity for NMITE but also for the county as well.
"What's most exciting about the drones degree is that there will be kids growing up in Herefordshire who now have a really clear route on their doorstep to a really incredible world class engineering degree, a master's level engineering degree, and an incredibly exciting professional career that will follow.
"We started investigating whether there might be potential to develop this kind of programme about four or five months ago and what we've done is reacted very quickly to the this emerging skills need from those kinds of national strategies."
The three-year course will also allow students to complete the qualification one year faster than traditional university courses, offering quicker access to specialist and novel careers.