Draganfly Inc. (“Draganfly'' or the “Company”), an award-winning, industry-leading drone solutions and systems developer, is pleased to announce an expansion of the DRL Academy STEM program in partnership with the Drone Racing League (“DRL”), the world’s premier, professional drone racing property, Steve Wozniak’s Woz Ed, the leader in demand-driven K-12 education and Imagine Learning’s Robotify, a virtual platform that teaches students about coding using robots.
Together, these leaders in technology and education will inspire the next generation of innovators through an immersive and interactive Science of Drone Racing curriculum, debuting for middle school students in 2022.
This announcement is the evolution of Draganfly’s initial agreement and work with Woz ED which provided for an exclusive partnership bringing additional product development to Draganfly’s current and future pipeline in addition to re-imagining the future of innovation for drone technologies.
According to AUVSI, the United States is expected to add approximately 100,000 new jobs by 2025 through the integration of Unmanned Aircraft Systems into in the National Airspace System. Investing in a technology-talent pipeline is crucial for companies to remain competitive.
The Science of Drone Racing program will spark students’ creativity, critical thinking and collaboration through hands-on and virtual learning experiences that demonstrate career-pathing opportunities within the drone space.
“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.”
The Science of Drone Racing course will teach kids how to fly and build racing drones through physical kits and code drones through esports-style programming competitions. Students will also watch professional pilots compete during exclusive DRL Season viewing parties.
“With decades of experience in aviation, robotics and engineering, Draganfly is thrilled to be supporting DRL’s game-changing Science of Drone Racing curriculum with Woz Ed and Robotify. We’re excited to inspire the next generation of STEM leaders at the middle school level.”
Cameron Chell, CEO of Draganfly
Draganfly recently joined DRL as a founding partner of DRL Labs, an innovation hub to research and develop groundbreaking drone technology that will advance the cutting-edge sport of high-speed drone racing and other industries undergoing significant transformations through drones, including humanitarian aid and mobility.
“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. 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,” said DRL President Rachel Jacobson.
To date, Woz Ed and Robotify have enabled millions of students to learn new skills in STEM-related fields. They recently aligned to provide cost-effective, accessible and equitable robotics-based educational experiences to schools around the globe.
“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.”
About Draganfly
Draganfly Inc. is the creator of quality, cutting-edge drone solutions, software and AI systems that revolutionize the way organizations can do business and service their stakeholders. Recognized as being at the forefront of technology for over 20 years, Draganfly is an award-winning, industry-leader serving the public safety, agriculture, industrial inspections, security, mapping and surveying markets. Draganfly is a company driven by passion, ingenuity, and the need to provide efficient solutions and first-class services to its customers around the world with the goal of saving time, money, and lives.
About Drone Racing League
The Drone Racing League (DRL) is an innovative global sports, entertainment and technology property. The best drone pilots in the world fly in the league and millions of fans watch them race on NBC, NBCSN, and Twitter. With groundbreaking technology and immersive, high-speed races through virtual and live events, DRL is creating a new era of sports, combining both esports and real-life competition.
About Imagine Learning’s Robotify
In 2021, Robotify joined Imagine Learning, a PreK-12 digital learning solutions company that ignites breakthroughs by designing forward-thinking solutions at the intersection of people, curricula, and technology to drive student growth. Imagine Learning serves more than 10 million students and partners with more than 7,500 school districts nationwide. Robotify helps the next generation to learn how to control robots and learn how to code. Using Robotify, students have access to the latest and greatest robots without having to ever purchase real hardware. Robotify gives students access to robots and environments that have never been accessible before through a web browser.
About Woz ED
Woz ED is the leader in demand-driven K-12 education. Steve Wozniak, the Founder and inspiration behind Woz ED, recognizes the worldwide need for nurturing an engineering mindset in our young people. Their programs focus on ensuring their learners are job-ready for the most in-demand tech sector openings and provide learners the opportunity to engage in authentic projects to help them understand what work they love and excel at. Woz ED’s lessons are purposefully designed to build an engineering mindset while developing the soft skills employers value. Collaboration, problem-solving, and critical thinking are inherent in every project.