Collaborative Research: A Consortium to Strengthen Avionics Technician Education

Modern aircraft depend on advanced electronic systems for navigation, communication, surveillance, digital flight control, safety, automation, and cybersecurity. Aviation systems are becoming increasingly digital, interconnected, and safety-critical. This project aims to strengthen avionics education across the nation, preparing the aviation workforce to support aircraft safety, economic competitiveness, and national defense. Students from high schools, colleges, and universities, as well as incumbent workers, will use the courses and materials developed through the project. As a consortium, Wichita State University Campus of Applied Sciences and Technology (KS), Calhoun Community College (AL), Aims Community College (CO), the Center for Aviation and Automotive Technological Education Using Virtual E-Schools (CA2VES, based at Clemson University [SC]), other educational institutions, industry partners, professional organizations, and workforce development stakeholders will collaborate to align education with workforce needs and develop evidence-based avionics education resources that combine classroom instruction, laboratory experiences, digital learning tools, and extended reality simulations. These efforts will support workforce preparation across aerospace, defense, commercial aviation, advanced manufacturing, and related technology-driven industries. The project will also broaden access to avionics career pathways leading to associate degrees, technical certificates, and industry-recognized credentials for two-year college students, high school students, incumbent workers, veterans, rural learners, and military-connected students. Deliverables will include curriculum modules, digital learning tools, extended reality simulations, recruitment materials, and professional development resources for instructors. The goals of the project are to identify current and emerging workforce requirements in avionics, design and assess an innovative avionics curriculum, broaden and strengthen career pathways for avionics technicians, and build avionics teaching capacity and national networks. Activities will include the assessment of workforce needs with industry partners and subject matter experts; development of learning modules, instructional materials, and assessments; creation of digital learning tools and extended reality simulations; pilot-testing and refinement of curricular materials; professional development for educators; and national dissemination of the project's findings and resources. The project will use interviews, surveys, workshops, focus groups, platform analytics, and data on learning outcomes to evaluate the alignment, usability, instructional effectiveness, and workforce relevance of the curriculum. The project will also advance understanding of how hybrid learning, immersive simulations, AI-enabled assessments, and industry-aligned curricular resources improve technician education in safety-critical aviation fields. The project's products and findings will be shared broadly with two-year colleges, secondary education partners, industry stakeholders, NSF's ATE community, and professional associations to support national adoption and long-term sustainability. This project is funded by the Advanced Technological Education program, which focuses on the education of technicians for the advanced-technology fields that drive the nation's economy. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.