Airservices’ scholarship boosts Australia’s burgeoning uncrewed industry

Airservices Australia is proudly offering a $25,000 scholarships fund in support of Australia’s burgeoning uncrewed industry.

The scholarships, in partnership with Australian Association for Uncrewed Systems, will foster greater participation and diversity in the uncrewed aircraft systems industry. Stay tuned for more details on how you can apply for the scholarships, set to be awarded later this year.

The announcement comes after Airservices’ Chief Executive Officer Jason Harfield (main) Head of Transformation Uncrewed Services Luke Gumley (right) and Flight Information Management System (FIMS) Lead Courtney Meares-Whitty (left) were guest speakers at the recent AAUS – Australian Association for Uncrewed Systems RPAS in Australian Skies 2023 conference in Melbourne.

Our impressive trio respectively discussed how an integrated airspace is powering industry growth and the need for fair and equitable access to airspace for all; how Airservices is delivering the foundations of the Uncrewed Aircraft System Traffic Management ecosystem for Australia; and an overview of the FIMS in-field trials conducted late 2022.

Airservices’ Chief Executive Officer Jason Harfield said it was a privilege to speak at the conference on how the company is investing more than $100 million to deliver uncrewed services.

Airservices is delivering a suite of digital and automated capabilities including the Flight Information Management System (FIMS), Airservices as a UAS Service Supplier (USS), drone surveillance and UAS geospatial data management.

To help us better understand the current state of the UAS industry and its projected growth, Airservices has commissioned a market analysis. To register your interest, click here.

Airservices also announced the formation of the Uncrewed Services Advisory Network (USAN) to enable us to better connect directly with the aviation industry.

“The USAN will provide us with informed and objective high-level advice on current and emerging challenges and opportunities that may have implications for our delivery of services to uncrewed and advanced air mobility customers,” Mr Harfield said.

“Importantly, we want to ensure that our service delivery is appropriately matched to the industry’s evolving needs.”

Airservices will soon call for expressions of interest to be on the USAN via AAUS. We encourage attendees to register and to participate — to be part of our journey to deliver the future of airspace management in Australia.

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