U.S. facilitates drone technology workshop for students, women

Thirty elementary and high school students have successfully completed a coaching programme on the basics of building drone from the scratch, and the requisite skills for piloting and landing an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), facilitated by the United States Consulate General, Lagos. Run in collaboration with Baltimore-based Global Air Media, the coaching exercise also included 13 female STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) leaders, who were mentored on the evolving technology needs of the 21^st Century, particularly in real estate and construction, cinematography, humanitarian and emergency response. The workshops, held on Monday and Tuesday respectively at the Cedar STEM and Entrepreneurship Hub, and American Corner at Co-Creation Hub (CCHUB), both at Yaba, Lagos, were facilitated by a team of three drone experts led by Global Air Media co-founder, Eno Umoh. According to the Public Affairs Officer, U.S. Consulate, Lagos, Ms. Darcy Zotter, the hands-on workshop was designed to stimulate the interest of the participating students in mathematics and science, as well as careers in the STEM fields. “STEM enables us to find solutions to some of the most pressing issues of today, such as alternative energy or even food security,” a consulate statement quoted Zotter to say. “Creating inventions to solve global challenges can be a catalyst for a country’s economic development.” She disclosed that the U.S. Mission in Nigeria has funded a number of projects to increase STEM education in different parts of the country, adding that whether at home or abroad, promoting STEM education is a top priority of the U.S. Government. “Last March, we hosted a 16-member delegation of senior women technology executives and professionals from Silicon Valley, California. The visiting delegation held a mentoring programme for over 70 Nigerian female STEM leaders,” she noted. “In December 2017, we funded the establishment of a technology hub in Lagos, designed to host training and mentoring sessions for persons living with disabilities in various technology-based skills. “We also hosted RoboRAVE, a robotics education programme, in Lagos and Abeokuta in October 2017.”