21 Young Women Graduate a Life-Changing Drone Tech Training

The MicroMek Drones4STEM program received an overwhelming 120 enthusiastic applicants, and only 21 young women were selected to take part in a 3-week intensive training program focused on Humanitarian Drone technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship.

MicroMek co-created the course work with The TEAM (Technology , Engineering , Advocacy , Medicine ) Malawi from the Virginia Tech (VT) University in Blacksburg U.S.A.  This Team of professionals is working on a water sampling Drone for Schistosomiasis.

The training, led by skilled instructors from VT , brought together Skills from different backgrounds with one shared goal: to gain practical, hands-on experience in some of the world’s most in-demand tech fields.

Courses Designed to Build the Future

The program covered Six core areas:
 🔹 Drone Building and Assembly 
 🔹 Drone Piloting  and Simulation
 🔹 GIS (Geographic Information Systems)
 🔹 One Health Malawi

 🔹 Computer Aided Design (CAD) and 3D printing 

 🔹 Entrepreneurship
     

Each course was designed to not only build skills but also encourage creative thinking and innovation. The participants explored how technology can be used to to solve real challenges in their communities and beyond.


The course Kicked off with Drone building and Assembly.

Followed by:  One Health and GIS on diseases Vector migration - Use case:  Schistosomiasis

Next we had fun with Computer Aided Design (CAD) with SolidWorks and 3D printing

Its time for the Big Day ! Let the Stars shine Start-up Ideas Take Center Stage at Graduation

After three weeks of learning, experimenting, and building, the program ended with a powerful moment a student startup pitch session. 
9 start-ups are born!. Each participant had the opportunity to present their business ideas, showcasing the knowledge they had gained and we witnessed  the beginning of nine Start-ups  and 21  innovators Journey. Yes our stars Graduated !

We were honored to have Ms. Thoko Chimvula from the IT Department at Eco Bank as the Guest of Honor during the graduation ceremony. Her message was clear: “The future of tech needs more women. Keep going, keep building.” Her encouragement left a lasting impact on the graduates.

This program marks another important step for MicroMek towards empowering young women to take the lead in STEM fields. We can't wait to see what these 21 future tech leaders do next.

#WomenInTech #Drones4STEM #Innovation #STEMEducation #Malawi #TheFutureIsUnmanned