Airbus Foundation together with it’s partners The Little Engineer and The Travelling Telescope has rolled out the Airbus Little Engineer (ALE) robotics programme in Kenya.
The goal is to encourage students to understand and embrace technology and ignite a passion that could grow into a STEM career.
Airbus Foundation plans to training thousands of students between 10 and 16 years old in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
In the spirit of ‘think global, act local’, the Airbus Foundation is working with local organisations dedicated to promoting science education in Africa. The first partners, Travelling Telescope in Kenya and STEM METS Resources in Nigeria, will be rolling out a series of ALE workshops in their home countries.
Airbus Little Engineer focused on introducing students to the world of space exploration and enhancing their understanding of both the benefits and applications of space technology.
“We want to support and work with Kenyan youth whose innovative and high-tech spirit is getting stronger with many small and medium sized companies, social entrepreneurs and local non-profit organizations,” said Andrea Debbane, Executive Director of the Airbus Foundation. “The Airbus Little Engineer programme helps to facilitate access to STEM skills which are crucial in solving the complex problems of today. I would like to thank all partners for joining efforts and making this project possible in Kenya.”
“We are very excited to be partnering with The Airbus Foundation and The Travelling Telescope. The Airbus Little Engineer initiative fits well into how we approach education at the M-PESA Foundation Academy where we focus on leadership, technology, entrepreneurship training and co-curricular activities alongside academic learning” said Les Baillie, CEO of the MPESA Foundation.
The Airbus Little Engineer programme has already reached over 3,000 students since its launch in 2012, in efforts to creating a sustainable pipeline of talent in Africa.