Airbus Foundation brings youth development programme to Africa

Programme aims to reach 3,000 participants in the first year and will grow to cover several countries in the continent

The Airbus Foundation together with its partner The Little Engineer is rolling out the Airbus Little Engineer (ALE) robotics programme in Africa.

The initiative aims at training thousands of students between 10 and 16 years old in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). The goal is to encourage students to understand and embrace technology and ignite a passion that could grow into an exciting STEM career.

Africa has the fastest-growing and most youthful population in the world, its youth will be the driving force behind sustainable growth across the continent. Therefore, investment in education and training is essential in building an educated and skilled workforce and to encourage innovation. The goal of the ALE programme is to support the countries’ efforts in creating a sustainable pipeline of talent for Africa.

“Africa has developed an ‘innovation’ culture that is growing fast with many social entrepreneurs, local non-profit organizations and we want to support and work with them,” said Andrea Debbane, Executive Director of the Airbus Foundation. “It is important that we all join efforts to facilitate the access to STEM skills. These skills play a key role because Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics related jobs are at the core of solving the complex problems of today’s world and its future.”

In the spirit of “think global, act local”, the Airbus Foundation is working with local organisations dedicated to promote science education in Africa. The first partners, Travelling Telescope and STEM METS Resources, respectively based in Kenya and Nigeria will be rolling out a series of ALE workshops in their home countries.

Since its launch in 2012, ALE programme successfully positioned itself as an effective vehicle for discovery-based learning, working to enlighten and empower youth in the areas of science and technology through robotics and aerospace. As of now, the programme has reached over 3,000 students.