The Science of Drone Racing: DRL and Draganfly Create New STEM Program with Woz Ed and Robotify

DRL and Draganfly Create New STEM Program with Woz Ed and Robotify

by DRONELIFE Staff Writer Ian M. Crosby

The world’s leading drone racing property, the Drone Racing League (DRL), announced today an expansion of their DRL Academy STEM program in partnership with industry leader Draganfly, the leader in demand-driven K-12 education Woz Ed, and Robotify, a virtual platform teaching students about coding using robots. Together, these technology and education leaders will teach the next generation of innovators the interactive “Science of Drone Racing” curriculum, beginning for middle school students next year.

With a projected 100,000 new drone jobs to arrive in the U.S. by 2025, it is essential for companies to invest in the next generation of talent. The Science of Drone Racing program will engage students through hands-on and virtual learning experiences that exhibit career-pathing opportunities within the drone industry.

“We’ve been educating students through interactive drone kits for years now, and the number one request we get from schools is to make a racing drone kit,” said Steve Wozniak, Founder of Woz Ed. “The Drone Racing League has a tremendous influence on young sports fans and future tech innovators, and we’re excited to team up to create a drone racing curriculum that ensures learners are job-ready for the most in-demand tech sector openings.”

In the Science of Drone Racing course, students will learn to fly and build racing drones using physical kits, and code drones in esports-style programming competitions, as well as watch professional pilots compete during exclusive DRL Season viewing parties.

“With decades of experience in aviation, robotics, and engineering, Draganfly is excited to support DRL around their game-changing Science of Drone Racing curriculum with Woz Ed and Robotify,” said Cameron Chell, CEO of Draganfly. “We’re thrilled to inspire the next generation of STEM leaders at the middle school level.”

Having recently joined DRL as a founding partner of DRL Labs, Draganfly will extend their partnership with the league to also consult on DRL Academy, making use of experience from its Drone Pilot Training Program, which was recently adopted by Alabama State University. Draganfly executives will act as ambassadors for the program, highlighting drone-related industries and career opportunities.

“We are thrilled to expand our partnership with Draganfly and team up with Woz Ed and Robotify to inspire students for a lifetime through exhilarating and educational drone racing courses,” said Rachel Jacobson, President of DRL. “We look forward to partnering with top companies and philanthropic organizations to help kids discover new passions and career opportunities in tech and science while shaping the industry to be more diverse and inclusive.”

Recently partnering to offer affordable and accessible robotics-based education in schools worldwide, Woz Ed and Robotify have so far provided millions of students with the opportunity to learn new skills in STEM-related fields.

“Robotify’s goal is to empower all kids to learn coding in an engaging and playful way,” said Imagine Learning’s Robotify CEO Adam Dalton. “For the first time ever, students and fans of the Drone Racing League will be able to learn about the science behind drone racing through a code learning curriculum and virtual racing competitions enabled by the Robotify platform. The mixture of virtual curriculum provided by Robotify, experience and reach provided by DRL, and physical drone kits provided by Woz ED, make this a truly unique and special partnership to inspire millions of young learners.”

Read more about the Drone Racing League: Drone Racing Arcade, betting deals, and sports deals.

Ian attended Dominican University of California, where he received a BA in English in 2019. With a lifelong passion for writing and storytelling and a keen interest in technology, he is now contributing to DroneLife as a staff writer.