LEAD

As a result of the rapidly advancing technology and developments in technician education to support autonomous technology advances, NCAT is encouraging faculty to identify opportunities they believe are most relevant to trends in industry and implementation in education. This includes an application process, screened under a merit review process to provide participant support funding. This will help shape opportunities NCAT will highlight in future years and possibly lead to the establishment of partnerships with these training providers to arrange special pricing for educators long-term.

A study from the Center for Public Education finds that while quality teacher professional development significantly impacts student success (especially) in STEM areas, teachers in rural areas are far less likely to have access to them and are 20% less likely to attend such events. NCAT is dedicated to specifically serving the unique needs of rural students and faculty throughout the US, while expanding their engagement with successful technician education in autonomous technologies.

NCAT is now offering $1,000 reimbursement to cover registration and travel costs for applicants wanting to attend professional development. Applicants are responsible for the upfront workshop and travel costs and will be reimbursed once expense documentation is submitted. ​

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The primary outcome of NCAT's core KSA initiative is to investigate common curriculum across the air, land and sea domains in partnership with industry partners and existing programs. Industry recognition and validation would be a second step in establishing this and outline a pathway (1-1.5 years) that could be instituted at many two-year colleges to provide the backbone knowledge skills and abilities that are common to multiple autonomous technology technicians. Students could then determine which sector they are most interested in and transfer to a school that provides specific training such as ROV or UAS technician training.

Ideally it would drive interest in STEM and make these career pathways more accessible to a larger segment of the population, particularly underrepresented and underserved populations. Many two-year colleges already train the core knowledge but do not offer a credential in an AT field and may not have instructors qualified to teach the specific skillsets needed to produce an ROV or UAS technician. This project will also help uniform future developments of educator workshops, STEM camps and student competitions.

A study from the Center for Public Education finds that while quality teacher professional development significantly impacts student success (especially) in STEM areas, teachers in rural areas are far less likely to have access to them and are 20% less likely to attend such events. NCAT is dedicated to specifically serving the unique needs of rural students and faculty throughout the U.S., while expanding their engagement with successful technician education in autonomous technologies.

NCAT offers professional development for educators and industry professionals which include webinars, in-person, online and virtual reality workshops. We use our website and social media platforms to promote other workshops or professional development opportunities centered around autonomous technologies and technician education.

Visit our Events Page for a list of current webinars, educator workshops, conferences and student activities.