A $30-million gift from Calgary philanthropist David Bissett will help the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) build a new facility aimed at training the next generation of workers in the rapidly developing autonomous aviation industry. The Bissett Autonomous Aviation Park is being planned as a dedicated space for students and industry partners to train, test and develop remotely piloted and autonomous aircraft. The announcement Thursday marks one of the largest investments in SAIT’s aviation programs and comes as the school expands its offerings in remotely piloted aircraft systems, commonly known as RPAS. The investment is part of SAIT’s $150-million Real Futures fundraising campaign. Bissett said he became interested in the technology after following developments in autonomous aircraft and drones around the world. “It’s interesting when you follow on YouTube, there’s all kinds of really interesting things on it,” Bissett said in an interview. He pointed to the use of autonomous aircraft in places such as Ukraine and China, as well as the potential for aircraft to transport equipment into remote areas. Bissett said he prefers the term autonomous aircraft to “drone,” arguing the technology has applications far beyond the recreational aircraft many people are familiar with. “We can’t even dream of all of the potential applications,” he said. A new home for autonomous aviation training The proposed park will bring together three areas: RPAS training, applied research and innovation and industry partnerships. Students are expected to work alongside companies on research projects and field testing, with work-integrated learning and co-op opportunities built into the facility. SAIT president and CEO David Ross said the investment will allow the school to move from its existing work in unmanned systems toward a permanent facility dedicated to the field. “The future centre for us is really the next step,” Ross said. “We’ve now long thought that unmanned systems were, in fact, the next phase of the evolution of what aerospace will be.” SAIT launched Western Canada’s first professional RPAS certificate program in 2023 and introduced its first RPAS diploma this fall. The school also operates the Centre for Innovation and Research in Unmanned Systems, which works with industry on applications for the technology. Ross said the new facility would allow those efforts to happen in one place, with training, research and industry working more closely together. He said the demand for graduates is already strong, with students in the school’s early programs receiving job offers before graduation. “The labour market is robust,” Ross said. “Many of these students are already being offered jobs.” Students already seeing opportunities For Troy Jensen, a first-year student in SAIT’s two-year RPAS diploma, the technology is moving quickly enough that some of the jobs graduates eventually take may not exist yet. “It’s such an emerging and rapidly developing and growing industry,” Jensen said. Jensen began the program about a month ago and has already been flying aircraft, working with flight-planning software and creating maps showing where drones will operate. He said a larger dedicated facility would give students more room to build and experiment with aircraft and access areas where they can legally fly. “Getting more and more people having the right tools, the right resources to actually go out, start experimenting on building drones, repairing drones, and even having the space to actually go fly them is incredible,” he said. The new park is expected to give students more opportunities to work directly with industry while completing their education. The SAIT announcement says $6 million of Bissett’s gift will also be earmarked for student awards, increasing access to RPAS education. Jensen said his own interest is in using remotely piloted aircraft for surveying and monitoring, potentially in remote parts of northern Canada. He could see aircraft being used to monitor wildlife populations or access areas that are difficult for people to reach. “If those companies don’t exist, I’d love to help start one up,” Jensen said. Applications extend well beyond drones SAIT’s existing research has included work in agriculture, petroleum, health and safety. Ross said one example involves using drones to monitor agricultural conditions, including soil moisture and fertilizer applications. The technology can also be used to track livestock equipped with RFID tags, potentially saving farmers time and money when monitoring herds across large areas. “The applied research side is about figuring out what the technology can do,” Ross said, while ensuring those applications are useful to companies and industries. The sector is also attracting attention from governments and economic development organizations. According to Statistics Canada figures cited by SAIT, Alberta’s aerospace sector contributed $3 billion to the provincial GDP in 2024. Calgary Economic Development has identified autonomous aviation as an economic driver, with more than 400 aerospace and defence organizations across Alberta. The sector is projected to reach $4.7 billion and see nearly 60 per cent employment growth by 2030. Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas added that the investment could help position the city to take advantage of that growth. He also pointed to potential applications in areas such as search and rescue, logistics and defence. “It’s about aerospace, aviation, defence, but it’s also about making sure that we’re future-proofing our local economy,” Farkas said. Location and construction plans still being worked out Despite Thursday’s announcement, the park does not yet have a finalized location or construction schedule. Ross said SAIT is considering a couple of land options, with the location expected to be announced in the future. Airspace is one of the considerations. Ross said autonomous aircraft can travel significant distances and at high speeds, making access to appropriate airspace an important part of choosing a site. “We’re still fussing over exactly what it’s going to look like,” he said. SAIT hopes to be ready to begin construction next year, but Ross said the school cannot yet provide a completion date or an overall construction cost. The $30-million commitment announced Thursday is Bissett’s contribution to the project; SAIT has not said the gift represents the full cost of building the park. The school says the goal is ultimately to create a facility where students can learn alongside industry while research and commercial applications continue to develop. For Bissett, the investment is ultimately about making sure Alberta students have a chance to be part of that development rather than watching it happen elsewhere. “I want young Albertans to be building it, not watching it happen somewhere else,” he said. “I think the imagination of these students could well evolve into new and interesting applications.”
