Calgary donor gives $30 million for SAIT drone park

Calgary philanthropist David Bissett has donated $30 million to the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology to build an autonomous aviation park, SAIT announced Thursday.

The Bissett Autonomous Aviation Park will be built on SAIT’s Calgary campus and will be dedicated to training, testing and certifying remotely piloted aircraft systems and autonomous aerial vehicles, BetaKit reported.

“Autonomous flight is a new industry taking shape in real time,” Bissett said in a statement. He said he wants young Albertans to build the industry rather than watch it develop elsewhere.

“A province’s prosperity depends on whether its people have the skills the global economy is asking for,” Bissett said.

CTV News Calgary reported that the gift will let SAIT move from its existing work in unmanned systems to a permanent facility dedicated to the field. SAIT president and CEO David Ross is pictured with the announcement in CTV’s coverage.

Neither outlet reported a construction timeline, an opening date or the size of the facility. SAIT has not been quoted on how many students the park will serve.

The school already has a track record in the field. According to BetaKit, SAIT launched Western Canada’s first professional remotely piloted aircraft systems certificate program in 2023 and started its first diploma program in the area this fall. The new park is meant to support that growing drone-focused programming.

The gift lands as Ottawa pushes for more domestic drone manufacturing and defence capability. BetaKit noted that Canadian startups such as Sentinel R&D have struck deals to supply drones to Ukraine, and that the Canadian drone market is expected to reach a $10-billion valuation by 2030.

Calgary Economic Development has identified autonomous aviation as an emerging driver in the city’s aerospace ecosystem, which BetaKit said is expected to grow to more than $4 billion by 2030.

For Alberta employers, the practical question is whether the park produces certified operators and technicians quickly enough to meet that demand. Without a stated opening date or capacity, that remains unanswered.

File photo: a quadcopter drone in flight. The photo is not from SAIT.

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Via BetaKit and CTV News Calgary.