The free online course “Developing business ideas for drone technologies”, developed by The Open University within the ICAERUS project, has become one of the project’s most far-reaching legacy outputs, attracting more than 475,000 visits and over 1,600 enrolled learners since its publication on the OpenLearn platform.
Launched on 18 December 2024 on OpenLearn, The Open University’s free learning platform, the course was created as part of the ICAERUS Academy to build entrepreneurial capacity in the emerging drone ecosystem. ICAERUS | Innovations and Capacity Building in Agricultural, Environmental and Rural UAV Services was funded by the EU under the Horizon Europe scheme (Grant Agreement 101060643) and by the UK under Innovate UK (reference 10038181).
A course for the next generation of drone entrepreneurs
The eight-week badged course, requiring approximately 24 hours of study, guides learners from an initial understanding of the drone industry to a fully articulated business idea. Designed for everyone, from drone enthusiasts and people interested in technology to professionals looking to expand their services into the agricultural, forestry and rural sectors, as well as students and newcomers curious about how drones can support agricultural sustainability, the course requires no prior knowledge.
The course is structured in eight weekly units:
- Week 1: Discover the drone industry
- Week 2: Business models and drones in agriculture
- Week 3: Frameworks for understanding drone data and regulations
- Week 4: From new business ideas to value propositions
- Week 5: Designing a business model – Part 1
- Week 6: Designing a business model – Part 2
- Week 7: Ecosystems and networks
- Week 8: Presenting your business idea
Learners who complete the course and pass its quizzes earn a free Open University digital badge and a Statement of Participation that can be displayed and shared as a marker of their achievement.
Reaching a global audience
Since its publication, the course has demonstrated a remarkable and sustained reach:
- 475,321 total course visits, including 308,692 guest visits and 160,128 return visits;
- 10,684 visits in the last 30 days alone, showing continued strong demand well beyond the end of the ICAERUS project;
- 1,631 enrolled learners, of whom 429 are active learners;
- 381 Statements of Participation and digital badges awarded to learners who completed the full course.
To maximise accessibility across Europe, the course has been translated into Dutch, French, German, Greek, Italian, Lithuanian and Spanish, with all translated versions available for offline study.
Part of the ICAERUS legacy
The course forms a central component of the ICAERUS Academy, the project’s capacity-building programme, and remains freely available on OpenLearn as part of the lasting legacy of ICAERUS. Alongside the ICAERUS Platform, the Drone Market Landscape and the Drone Data Analytics Library, it continues to support farmers, foresters, students, entrepreneurs and drone service providers in turning drone technologies into viable, sustainable businesses.
The course is available free of charge HERE.
Visit the ICAERUS Platform: https://platform.icaerus.eu
