Workshop creates degree program unmanned aerial vehicles in NV

(Las Vegas)— The Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development, the Nevada System of Higher Education and the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance hosted Titans of Industry, a two-day workshop that brought together the best brands in unmanned aerial vehicle systems to discuss future higher education programs in Nevada, on June 26-27 at the JW Marriot Las Vegas Resort & Spa.

This one-of-a-kind workshop allowed higher learning institutions, such as the University of Nevada-Las Vegas and University of Nevada-Reno, to create unmanned aerial vehicle degree programs with the active involvement of corporate leaders in that industry who will be looking to hire graduates in the next five years. For nearly two days educators and government officials met with representatives from companies such as Boeing and The Matrix Group, in an effort to craft a degree program designed to generate skilled industry graduates, beginning at the high school level.

“This is mainly an educational event with an economic development twist,” said Tom Wilczek, a Governor’s Office of Economic Development aerospace and defense industry representative. “These are corporate leaders for their industry. There’s definitely nothing like this being done, or has ever been done, in Nevada. You won’t get all these people in the same room again, especially in this capacity to discuss education and what their companies will be looking for in employment candidates five years from now. That’s invaluable information for someone looking to explore higher education in that field, and it will help us to create a tailored program.”

According to Wilczek, Nevada is well positioned to provide such a program because of the military outposts which already exist here, including Nellis Air Force Base.

“Any program we offer will also be a hands-on learning experience,” Wilczek said. “Because Nevada does this for a living at Creech and Nellis, we would be able to offer academic instruction in a real world setting. I don’t know of many other programs that can do that. We are looking to graduate students who already have flight hours.”

About Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance
The Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance is a 501(c)6 membership organization dedicated to diversifying the economy in Southern Nevada and building the foundations for long-term economic growth.  For more information, call 702.791.0000 or visit www.www.lvgea.org. The Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance is located in The Rob Roy inNEVation Center.