Department: Computer Science
Vacancy ID: 028961
Closing Date: 14-Jul-2024

Maynooth University is committed to a strategy in which the primary University goals of excellent research and scholarship and outstanding education are interlinked and equally valued. We are seeking a candidate with excellent management, innovation and communication skills to coordinate various aspects of this Drone Innovation Platform project. These will include exploring drone innovation frameworks, establishing and building stakeholder networks, coordinating and running workshop events, composing and categorising stakeholder feedback, drafting end-user service needs, collating input for Web platform design, investigating sustainable drone service models and preparing drone innovation plans.

This collaborative research project will be managed through SFI centre LERO, will be coordinated by Maynooth University and involve Dublin City Council (DCC) and the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA). This project builds on  Accelerating the Potential of Drones for Local Government, an initiative by Dublin City Council, involving a number of partners including IAA and MU, completed in June 2022. This project will support the implementation of  Dublin City Council’s Drone Strategy launched in May 2024.

As the drone market continues to evolve and the number of operators and operations increase there is an imperative for local government and aviation authorities to work together to understand how they can best manage low altitude air space in urban areas and cities. In particular, there needs to be widespread engagement to define the rules for flying and how areas of concern in relation to safety, security, environmental impact and privacy can be addressed. This project proposes to address this over a 2 year period, delivering a suite of recommendations and an understanding of what the role of local authorities should be and how the Irish Aviation Authority can support the growth of drones in an inclusive and collaborative manner. This Drone Innovation Platform project’s main aim is to gain a better understanding of the various technological, regulatory, wider-societal and innovation supports required by these new Drone ecosystems and related activities that are planned for typical European City environments. This study will examine drone technologies, stakeholders’ requirements and view-points, the regulatory framework, U-Space and UTM architectures together with commercial and innovation aspects.

A suitably qualified candidate with an excellent STEM related primary degree and ideally postgraduate degree with significant management, innovation and communication experience is required to play a key role in this Drone Innovation Platform project.

The candidate will work closely with the Principal Investigator (Tim McCarthy) & Management Team: Jamie Cudden (DCC Smart Cities),Thomas Curran (DCC, Drone Unit) and Enda Walsh (IAA, UAS Manager/Drones Champion) and will be responsible for ensuring their aspects of the research work-plan for this project, are adhered to in terms of outputs, deliverables and milestones. A high level of initiative and personal drive is required – this will be an environment where you will be joining the project at ground level, helping to coordinate various aspects of this project. The candidate must have the ability to work independently under minimal direction and on their own initiative. The work will involve working closely with project partners, secondment at DCC for a significant part of the project, organising workshops and attending relevant conferences & symposia.

The place of work is the campus of Maynooth University, Maynooth, Co. Kildare and will involve travel between the IAA and Dublin City Council (Smart Cities and Drone Unit).

Salary

Administrative Officer I (2024): €56,351 – €62,293 p.a. (4 points)

Appointments will be made in accordance with public sector pay provisions.