Employees of the chemical industry enterprise were trained under the additional education program «Operation and maintenance of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) of small and medium class, payload functional equipment, information transmission and processing systems in aerial photography complexes with a maximum take-off weight of up to 30 kg» at the Institute of Additional Professional Education.

Agrodrons are used for spraying fields, applying fertilizers, monitoring the condition of crops and other operations, optimizing costs and increasing production efficiency. Drones are capable of automating field processing processes, increasing labor productivity. One operator can simultaneously control four to five agricultural plants from one remote control in automatic mode and process up to 300 hectares per day.

The development of the UAV field at Stavropol State Agrarian University dates back to 2021, and in 2023 it was defined as a separate area of scientific, technological and educational development of the university.

Today, the field of «Unmanned aircraft in agriculture» at SSAU is:

— 2 educational programs: network — «Unmanned aerial vehicle control systems» and additional education program «Operation and maintenance of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) of small and medium class, payload functional equipment, information transmission and processing systems in aerial photography complexes with a maximum take-off weight of up to 30 kg»;

— more than 150 trained trainees;

— an educational and technical center operating in partnership with the federal operator Consortium of Unmanned Aircraft Systems LLC;

— 8 types of unmanned aerial vehicles for various operational purposes — agricultural drones, monitoring and cartography, as well as UAVs for conducting classes in circles for students and schoolchildren;

— 3 research areas: engineering, agrochemical and monitoring;

— 4 academic and business partners in the implementation of educational and scientific projects (Step Agroholding, Innopolis University, Vinko-Agro LLC, Kristall-S4 LLC).

In this stream, employees of a chemical industry enterprise became listeners of the program. They were trained in drone control for both photo and video recording of company facilities and for production purposes. The theoretical part of the training took place on the basis of the SSAU, and the students received practical skills in the classroom at the university's experimental farm. Under the guidance of Alexander Yanovsky, Head of the Department of Electrical Engineering, Physics and Occupational Safety and Head of the SSAU Unmanned Aviation Center, they were trained and were able to try their hand at controlling drones, including in open areas. 

— Since 2021, the university has been systematically working to create a scientific and educational base in the field of unmanned aircraft systems, since 2023 the direction has been identified as a separate vector of scientific, technological and educational development of the university. Today, the program serves as a bridge between fundamental science and manufacturing,» said Vladimir Sitnikov, Rector of SSAU.