The purpose of the study trip was to familiarise ourselves with Ireland’s unmanned aviation ecosystem, promote knowledge transfer, establish new collaborative contacts, and gain insights into the practical application of drone services, regulations, and collaboration models.
During the study trip, the academy's representatives visited:
Future Mobility Campus Ireland (FMCI), where we familiarized ourselves with their infrastructure and activities and heard about their collaboration with the Technology University of the Shannon (TUS) and the AIRMOB project;
Manna Air Delivery, whose logistics center in Blanchardstown operates a drone-based food delivery service unique in Europe. At their headquarters in Glasnevin, we toured their operations center and observed drone manufacturing;
The EUROCAE Symposium, which brought together experts from the European aviation and UAS sectors. The Aviation Academy actively participates in the EUROCAE Unmanned Aviation Working Group;
The Carlow campus of the South East Technological University (SETU), where we gained an overview of their research, development, and innovation activities;
Risqon Consulting, which presented its risk management platform;
Dublin City Council’s Drone Unit, which shared experiences regarding the establishment of a drone unit, Urban Air Mobility development plans, and potential areas of cooperation.
Such international collaboration and learning experiences help us better understand the rapidly evolving field of unmanned aviation and bring valuable knowledge back to aviation education and development in Estonia.