SVU launches DGCA-approved drone pilot training course

Sri Venkateswara University (SVU) on Monday launched a 15-day course on remote drone pilot training, offered by the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

With this, the university became the first general State university to receive official approval from DGCA to be considered as a Remote Drone Pilot Training Organisation (RPTO), although ANGRAU bagged it under the agricultural university category.

Organised in association with PBC Aerohub Private Limited, a partner of Drone and Space Technology Consortium, the programme was taken up under the RUSA phase II initiative and aimed at providing cutting-edge technical skills to on-campus students belonging to engineering, sciences, arts and management streams.

SVU Vice-Chancellor Tata Narasinga Rao, who formally inaugurated the event, hailed the training programme for being specifically designed to provide hands-on experience in drone operations and mapping. Elaborating on the technical scope of the strategic initiative, he enouraged the participants to obtain the DGCA’s ‘Remote pilot certification’.

Rector Ch. Appa Rao said that the varsity was authorised to conduct training for small and medium class drones. Registrar M. Bhupathi Naidu spoke on the opportunities available for the participants in sectors like surveillance, survey, agri-spraying, among others.

Programme coordinator K. Dharma Reddy, RUSA CEO Vamsi Krishna Rayala and K.V. Sucharitha took part.