The sky's the limit for a group of University of Victoria students.
The University of Victoria’s (UVic) aerospace engineering team, UVic Aero, is returning to the Aerial Evolution Association of Canada Student Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) competition in 2025. One of the oldest engineering clubs at UVic, UVic Aero hopes to return to its former glory after winning the UAS Competition in 2018. The group was forced to take a hiatus due to COVID-19 and only returned to the competition last year.
This year, the competition focuses on wildfire prevention. The team is tasked with creating an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capable of finding, mapping, and eliminating wildfires. The focus on wildfire detection is especially important to club president Alex Rome. “Back in 2008, my home was almost destroyed by a wildfire. I was too young at the time to recognize the severity and depth of what had happened, but I do now,” said Rome.
“This competition means a lot to the team as a way of showcasing their skills and innovation, but it means more to communities and residents. Wildfires have become a recurring and more frequent natural disaster felt by many.”
The club’s enthusiasm has helped them secure Conair Aerial Firefighting as a sponsor for this year’s competition. Conair will provide $2,000, making up nearly a third of their UAV’s build budget.
“To receive this kind of support for our club is absolutely astounding and a huge deal. The university provides us with space to work on our projects, but we do not receive any financial support from them,” said Rome.
Despite the club's past success in the competition, they may be seen as underdogs, since UVic does not offer an aerospace engineering program or specialization, few teams without such a program take part in the competition.
“It is somewhat unusual,” said Rome. “Historically, the most successful teams in the student competition have come from universities with an aerospace program or specialization. It’s also unusual that we are from Western Canada, as the majority of Canada’s aerospace industry is located in Quebec and Ontario.”
However, Rome is not shaken by UVic Aero being an outlier. “Our team is very multidisciplinary and brings together not just mechanical, electrical, and software engineers, but also business, arts, and physics students who are passionate about aerospace,” he says.
“Our combined knowledge and enthusiasm help bridge the gap to our competition.”
UVic Aero will have their chance to take the top prize once again when the UAS competition is held from May 9 to 11 in Medicine Hat, Alta.
