Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) has been recognized as the first university in Indonesia to provide certified training for remote pilots of small Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (small UAS) or drones.
Dr. Sanjiwana Arjasakusuma, the Coordinator of UGM’s Remote Pilot Rating Task Force, explained that the issuance of the Remote Pilot License (RPL) for UAS can only be done through certificates obtained from training institutions recognized by the Ministry of Transportation.
There are only nine recognized RPL training institutions, with UGM being the latest addition.
“UGM is the first university to be recognized as capable of issuing a Remote Pilot License (RPL) certificate acknowledged by the Ministry of Transportation,” he stated on Thursday (October 12) at UGM.
He mentioned that UGM gained this recognition after undergoing an assessment by the Ministry of Transportation.
The assessment was conducted to evaluate the readiness of facilities, human resources, and curriculum submitted by UGM based on criteria set by the Directorate of Airworthiness and Aircraft Operations of the Ministry of Transportation.
This aligns with regulations and laws, including Law No. 1 on Aviation, Article 58 (1), which mandates that all aviation personnel must have licenses or competency certificates.
Furthermore, the Civil Aviation Safety Regulation Part 107 on Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS) (Ministerial Regulation No. 63 of 2021) outlines the requirements for UAS remote pilots, including a minimum of 38 hours of theoretical training and 5 hours of practical training.
UGM’s recognition as an RPL training center is documented in the Directorate of Airworthiness and Aircraft Operations’s decree number UM.006/21/17/DKPPU-2023, dated August 30, 2023, which designates UGM as an institution for Remote Pilot Rating for UAS training with the registration number UASTC-009.
In response to this positive development, UGM has formed a task force to oversee drone/UAV training at UGM, comprising members from the Faculties of Geography, Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Engineering, Vocational College, and the Center for Transportation and Logistics (Pustral).
The task force’s role is to manage the training instruments and supervise the implementation of Remote Pilot Rating for UAS training at UGM, ensuring it complies with the standards set by the authority.
Dr. Taufik Hery Purwanto, one of the task force members, added that this recognition is significant for UGM.
Many developments, utilization, and training in UAS at UGM are carried out to comply with existing regulations concerning safety and security. Therefore, knowledge about UAS, regulations, and licenses for operating them is required.
As a follow-up to UGM’s recognition as a legitimate training institution by the Ministry of Transportation, training for Remote Pilot Licenses (RPL) and advanced aerial photography processing was conducted by the UGM Faculty of Geography’s PUSPICS in June 2023, which was attended by 17 participants.
Furthermore, the Center for Transportation and Logistics held training for remote pilots and the operation of uncrewed aircraft systems for mapping in July 2023.
All participants of these training programs successfully registered for certificates to obtain licenses from the Ministry of Transportation through SIDOPI-GO.
“Going forward, we hope UGM’s recognition as an institution for remote pilot rating training will benefit the broader community by producing human resources for the aviation sector with a strong scientific understanding and a good grasp of security and safety,” Dr. Taufik Purwanto said.
Author: Ika
Photo: The UGM Remote Pilot Rating Task Force