The National Center for Autonomous Technologies (NCAT) is involved in three new initiatives that have attracted the attention of educators and students around the country.

Jonathan Beck, NCAT executive director and principal investigator, praises the collaboration of 32 community college educators who developed the Collegiate Training Initiative Universal Design for Learning Small Uncrewed Aircraft System Model Curriculum with the Center for Applied Special Technology for NCAT.

Lessons that prepare students to take the Part 107 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) drone pilot licensing exam have been downloaded more than 10,000 times since the Universal Design for Learning Small UAS Model Curriculum was posted on NCAT’s website in April 2025. The curriculum also aligns with the minimum requirements for colleges to become part of the FAA’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems Collegiate Training Initiative (UAS-CTI).

In a separate endeavor, NCAT facilitates students’ applications to the Elevate Scholarship Program, a nonprofit that three NCAT industry partners started this year to defray Part 107 exam fees for low-income students. As of September 30, 81 students between the ages of 16 and 24 had applied for the scholarships; 51 had been granted exam fee vouchers.

This year NCAT also received its formal accreditation as the training provider for the Association of Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI). In August, NCAT delivered its first AUVSI professional development program using the Trusted Operator Program Mentor-Protégé Model to 13 educators. With 10 educators already on the waiting list for the 2026 workshop, NCAT is developing a hybrid version of the model program to blend online instruction with an in-person, practical final exam.

 “NCAT fosters collaborations that support technician education programs in autonomous technologies and advanced transportation systems, and this year we’ve had some exceptional opportunities to expand access, elevate standards, and strengthen the skilled technical workforce pipeline,” Jonathan Beck, NCAT executive director and principal investigator wrote in an email.

Beck explained that these robust activities evolved from NCAT leaders’ decision to focus on the 148 institutions that participate in the FAAs Unmanned Aircraft Systems Collegiate Training Initiative (UAS-CTI). NCAT receives center funding from the National Science Foundation’s Advanced Technological Education program. NCAT is hosted by Northland Community and Technical College at Thief River Falls, Minnesota. 

Cross-Institutional Effort Improves Autonomous Technologies Curriculum

For Beck one of the highlights has been NCAT’s facilitation of the work by 32 educators from 31 UAS-CTI colleges in collaboration with the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) to integrate Universal Design for Learning (UDL) concepts into a standardized curriculum framework for small UAS instruction.  

The final curriculum package, which is posted on NCAT’s website for free downloads, has 31 lessons that meet the minimum requirements for FAA UAS CTI membership.  

“This package was presented during XPONENTIAL 2025, AUVSI’s annual conference, where we and several of our partners led 21 sessions for XPONENTIAL’s first Education and Workforce Development Track,” Beck wrote in an email. The addition of this track brought a new group of people to the conference. Next year there will be a new track for instructors at two-year community and technical colleges.

“NCAT also used the conference for the first onsite convening of the FAA UAS CTI community and dissemination of these types of key resources,” Beck wrote. 

It was important to the CTI network to get together in person to continue their great work and to unveil all the hard work on the UDL CTI curriculum collaborators, he explained, adding the professional development sessions provided information for educators to use to enhance their programs.

Program Helps Students with FAA Drone Pilot Exam Costs

The Elevate Scholarship Program started in 2025 to ensure that aspiring drone pilots and technicians from underserved communities can access industry-recognized certifications and pursue careers in autonomous technologies.

Megan Hall, NCAT office administrative specialist, explained that Elevate was the vision of DroneDeploy leaders. In its first year the nonprofit was funded with a $25,000 contribution from Amazon Prime Air, $20,000 from DroneDeploy, and $10,000 from FlyGuys, Inc. The three companies are among NCAT’s industry partners.

She pointed out that NCAT does not provide any funding, but facilitates students’ applications for vouchers to take the FAA Part 107 pilot exam. The $175 fee for this certification test has been a barrier for some students, she said. Passing the exam is required to fly drones for jobs.

Students can apply for the vouchers by using the scholarship application on NCAT’s website.

NCAT Tests Mentor-Protégé Model for Preparing Trusted Operators

NCAT’s intensive professional development workshop for trusted operators in August was a test of the mentor-protégé model program the NCAT developed for AUVSI.

NCAT’s program is the first and only mentor program that prepares educators to become certified as Trusted Operator Level 1 and Level 2 Remote Pilot Instructors. Attaining these credentials qualifies educators to certify students who meet trusted operator standards.

The 13 educators in the first cohort gave the professional development program high ratings in follow-up surveys and in comments NCAT provided for the ATE Impacts Blog.

“This training was everything I was looking for, especially when it came to collaborating and connecting with other colleges that are in the same situation as my college,” Megan Kostelnik, aviation instructor at Pasco-Hernando State College wrote.

“The training and collaboration facilitated by the instructor were phenomenal!,” according to A. Michael Shekari, director of the Technology Center for Emergency Response and instructional coordinator for Unmanned Vehicle Systems of Gulf Coast State College. He wrote: “We were given the opportunity to be standardized on a new curriculum, while also having productive conversations on sUAS training doctrine with a group of peers who otherwise would probably not have had an opportunity to meet face-to-face.”

“The training was valuable for us as educators, and will be even more valuable for our students to help differentiate them from others entering the UAS industry,” wrote Matthew Prinkki, associate professor at Rocky Mountain College.

With ten educators already on the waiting list for the trusted operator workshop in summer 2026, NCAT is now developing a hybrid training model to accommodate demand during the academic year. It will allow educators to do course work online and complete the hands-on practical exam in-person. 

Beck explained in an email, “This will raise the bar for increasing quality and standardizing the training for industry professionals using small UAS in the classroom and across a wide range of industries.”