esports for STEM Skills: How the Aerial Drone Competition Lifts Students Up
Frankie Baker
esports for STEM Skills: How the Aerial Drone Competition Lifts Students Up
The energy of esports meets engineering and real-world careers in the Robotics Education & Competition Foundation (RECF)’s Aerial Drone Competition. In regional events and national championships each year, thousands of students swap game consoles for drone controllers and Python programming.
Three to five students per team compete with one drone – Robolink's CoDrone EDU – while navigating through exciting teamwork, piloting, and autonomous flight missions. As they go, they learn about drones, flight principles, programming, documentation, and communication skills while building highly relevant skills for drone- and engineering-related workforce and career opportunities.
“At Robolink, we believe students aren't just consumers of technology—they are its commanders, innovators, and creators,” said Hansol Hong, CEO and Founder of Robolink.
“Together with the RECF, we’re watching students come out of the Aerial Drone Competition leveled up in coding, critical thinking, and teamwork. They have the confidence to pursue high-demand careers, and are even entering the Air Force at rank in some cases.”
With CoDrone EDU selected as the official drone for the Aerial Drone Competitions for three years running, schools are also turning this experience into a classroom-ready win. Why? Because it delivers on what educators and students need most:
