[Written in partnership with Cyberview, but the editorial team had full control over the content.]
In May 2023, Amir Fauzan, an engineering student at the National University of Malaysia took a shot and signed up as a student at The National Academy for Drone Sports Excellence (AKSADRON) in his pursuit of becoming a drone soccer athlete.
Since those early days, Amir has quickly climbed the ranks, evolving from curious student into a multiple-time champion at national-level drone soccer tournaments, before now taking on a leadership role, mentoring peers and guiding students through workshops and serving as a technical crew member at AKSADRON training programmes and competitions.
Amir’s story serves as a testament to Cyberview and its subsidiary Futurise’s Cyberjaya Drone Hero (CDH) programme, an initiative aimed at nurturing and developing talent in drone sports, giving those with the passion and gift the accessibility to a developing industry: unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones.
This initiative, that has gone on to raise over 200 drone sport athletes among local school students, serves as aligned with Cyberview’s mission of positioning Cyberjaya as Malaysia’s leading “Drone Innovation Hub.”
This refers to a multi‑faceted ecosystem that supports drone sports technology, talent development, industry collaboration, community engagement, and tech commercialisation, said Cyberview, the Tech Hub Developer behind Cyberjaya.
But maybe more than that, through their ecosystem, the Drone Innovation Hub aims to be an “inclusive and vibrant environment for tech enthusiasts, drone pilots and spectators to connect and build a strong network within the drone sports and eSports ecosystem,”—a space where skills are challenged, ideas are exchanged and innovation happens.
As such, in building a truly innovative space, they’re not just stopping at fostering talent among students.
A new generation of pilots
Built in 2019 at the Obama Oval in Cyberjaya, the Drone Testing Zone (DTZ) serves as Malaysia’s first such space, offering professional and accredited drone training and demonstrations.
Providing training and Remote Pilot Training Organisation (RPTO) certification, Drone Academy Asia, a top CAAM-approved (Civil Aviation Authority Malaysia) organisation, leads the talent development programme at the DTZ.
Over the years, they have trained over 2,300 pilots through more than 150 training sessions, logging over 2,000 flight hours and enabling innovation through prototypes, technology trials, and safety-focused environments.
Indeed, the DTZ has served as a platform for innovation, once testing a drone food delivery by a local company during the MyDroneX event in 2019. In 2021, it had platformed a demonstration of urban drone delivery services by Teleport, the AirAsia Group’s logistics arm.
In August 2020, the DTZ also witnessed the launch of the Oracytes Drone. The Oracytes Drone was the world’s first spot precision spraying drone for oil palm, created by homegrown dronetech startup Aonic (formerly known as Poladrone).
With numerous key industry players utilising the DTZ, the space proves Cyberview’s success in providing the physical and digital infrastructure for tech and smart city initiatives in Cyberjaya, be it drone testing zones or innovation hubs.
Sticking to the plan
Along with their other programmes, such as the Drone Hub Innovation for Future Talents 2024 programme, and their 2023 AKSADRON Day, Cyberview and Futurise seem committed to their National Drone Sports Strategic Roadmap (NADSAR), a comprehensive plan to develop and accelerate the growth of Malaysia’s drone sports ecosystem from 2023 to 2027.
The roadmap serves as a guide building a new generation of drone sports talent among youth, by encouraging widespread participation in drone sports for both recreation and professional development.
Further, NADSAR hopes to foster strong collaborations between the industry, academy and government, while also seeking to streamline and improve regulations for drone sports, ensuring compliance with national and international standards.
“These comprehensive efforts not only aim to popularise drone sports as a dynamic STEM-driven activity but to also position Malaysia to benefit economically, potentially contributing to GDP and job creation up in the drone sector by 2030,” said Cyberview.
As Cyberview aims to attract start-ups, innovators, and tech investors to the growing Cyberjaya ecosystem and the drone scene there, the developer also continues to future-proof Malaysia’s and Cyberjaya’s talent pool, providing prodigies like Amir a gateway to develop their niche but valuable expertise in today’s world.
- Learn more about Futurise here.
- Read our other tech stories here.
Featured Image Credit: Amir Fauzan Facebook / AKSADRON
