United States Consulate General in Lagos in
collaboration with Baltimore-based Global Air Media has concluded a two-day
drone technology workshop for students and women STEM leaders.
The training which was held at the Cedar STEM and Entrepreneurship
Hub and American Corner at Co-Creation Hub (CCHUB) in Yaba, Lagos, last Monday
and Tuesday respectively, was facilitated by a team of three drone experts led
by Global Air Media co-founder Eno Umoh.
At the workshop, 30 elementary and high school
students were coached on the basics of building a drone from the scratch as
well as the requisite skills for piloting and landing an unmanned aerial
vehicle (UAV).
In addition to the students’ seminar, 13 female
STEM leaders were mentored on the evolving technology needs of the 21st
century, particularly in the fields of real estate and construction,
cinematography, as well as humanitarian and emergency response.
Public Affairs Officer, US Consulate in Lagos, Ms.
Darcy Zotter, explained that 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.
Creating inventions to solve global challenges can be a catalyst for a
country’s economic development,” Zotter said.
According to her, the US Mission in Nigeria has
funded a number of projects to increase STEM education in different parts of
the country. Whether at home or abroad, adding
that promoting STEM education is a top priority of the US government.
She said: “Last March, we hosted a 16-member
delegation of senior women technology executives and professionals from Silicon
Valley in California. The visiting delegation held a mentoring programme for
over 70 Nigerian female STEM leaders.
“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.”
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