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Education
News, deep dives, and analysis — every Education story, newest first.
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Drone education coverage spans two very different uses of the same technology: schools deploying drones for physical safety, and programs training the next generation of pilots and engineers.
The safety side has grown fast. Georgia is betting $550,000 on drones to help stop school shooters, and separately, pepper-spray-equipped school drones have gone live in nine schools across three states, both examples of drones being deployed as a physical security layer rather than a teaching tool.
On the training side, Fly Like a Girl turned Pittsburgh teens into certified drone pilots, and K-State Salina trains Kansas farmers to fly agricultural spray drones as part of a university aviation program, two examples of hands-on drone education reaching very different student populations.
Manufacturers see the opportunity too: DJI is offering college students cash and free gear even as the FCC blocks its new drones from certification, a bet on long-term brand loyalty made while the company’s US market access is under real pressure. For formal licensing, see the Pilot Institute training desk. Every drone education story is in the feed below.
Key facts
- What this covers
- Drones in education: school and university programs, student pilot training, and manufacturer outreach to students
- Two directions at once
- Schools are adopting drones both as safety tools, including anti-shooter systems, and as hands-on STEM programs training future pilots
- Manufacturer stake
- DJI is investing directly in student outreach even as its new products face FCC certification blocks
Start here
- DJI Offers College Students Cash And Free Gear As FCC Blocks Its New Drones — August 24, 2026
- Fly Like A Girl Turns Pittsburgh Teens Into Drone Pilots — July 25, 2026
- Georgia Bets $550K on Drones to Stop School Shooters — June 2, 2026
Last updated August 28, 2026 — the feed below updates with every new story.
DJI
DJI Offers College Students Cash And Free Gear As FCC Blocks Its New Drones
DJI's new Campus Creators program pays students to post about DJI gear, eight months into an FCC block on every new DJI product in the US and days before a second ban deadline.
Education
Fly Like A Girl Turns Pittsburgh Teens Into Drone Pilots
The Fly Like A Girl academy outside Pittsburgh has trained more than 100 high school girls to fly drones since 2023 and helped nearly a dozen of them earn FAA Part 107 certificates.
DJI
DJI Tello Flown By Brainwaves In Open-Source BCI
Upside Down Labs, the open-source biosensing company, built a real-time brain-computer interface that flies a Ryze Tello using signals read straight off the human body. The system pulls EEG brain activity, EMG muscle activity, and EOG eye movement through the company’s Neuro PlayGround Lite board, converts them into flight commands, and sends them to the…
Department of Defense
ABSI Hosts Hive Mind Robotics Team for Counter-UAS Tour
Members of growingSTEMS Robotics Team 836A, known as The Hive Mind, toured ABSI Aerospace and Defense in California, Maryland this month to see how the company builds the expendable unmanned targets the U.S. military uses to train against hostile drones. The Hollywood, Maryland team had just returned from the VEX IQ World Championship in St.…
Police
Georgia Bets $550K on Drones to Stop School Shooters
Five Georgia high schools will soon keep drones waiting on charging pads, ready to fly at an attacker before police can reach the building. The state set aside $550,000 to test the idea this fall. The drones are piloted by people at a company in Texas, and they carry pepper spray, sirens, and strobes, not…
FAA
K-State Salina Trains Kansas Farmers to Fly Spray Drones
Kansas State University Salina is putting agricultural drone spray operations directly in farmers’ hands. The university’s UAS program is offering a two-day in-person course covering everything from regulatory compliance to live spray missions, with the next session scheduled for May 28-29, as KSAL reported. What the Course Actually Covers The course is called UAS Aerial…
DJI
Donecle’s €10M Inspection Drone Raise Meets America’s Aircraft Mechanic Shortage
Donecle raised €10M for inspection drones two weeks before WSJ reported America's aviation mechanic shortage. The two stories explain each other.
Frequently asked questions
Are schools using drones for safety, not just STEM education?
Yes, and it is one of the fastest-growing parts of this desk. Georgia is betting $550,000 on drones to help stop school shooters, and a separate program has put pepper-spray-equipped school drones live in nine schools across three states.
What kind of hands-on drone training programs exist for students?
Programs ranging from local nonprofits to university labs. Fly Like a Girl turned Pittsburgh teens into certified drone pilots, and K-State Salina trains Kansas farmers, including students, to fly agricultural spray drones as part of its aviation program.
Why is DJI investing in college students specifically right now?
DJI is offering college students cash and free gear even as the FCC blocks its new drones from certification, a long-term brand-loyalty bet made at the exact moment the company's short-term US market access is under the most pressure.
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