Through grant funding from the Georgia Space Grant Consortium, West Georgia Technical College has partnered with the Aerospace Engineering Department of Georgia Institute of Technology and the Drone Racing Club of Atlanta to host the inaugural DRONES4STEM Summer Boot Camp and Challenge Event.

The camp and event will be held at the West Georgia Tech Carroll Campus in Carrollton the week of July 11-16.

A total of 24 West Georgia Tech STEM students and instructors will participate in the boot camp. They will learn drone basics, including the necessary components that make up drones and how drones are used. Camp participants will then pair up into teams of two and assemble their own micro-sized drone. 

Before taking to the air, camp participants will learn how to fly the drones via flight simulators and additional testing. 

The camp concludes with teams training for the DRONE4STEM Challenge Event, held on Saturday, July 16, from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. on the WGTC Carroll Campus in Carrollton.

At the event, which is open to the public, teams will compete in three challenges and the team with the highest combined score after the challenges will win their own micro sized drone kit.  

Representatives from the GSGC, the DRC, UWG’s GSGC affiliate team, and the Georgia Tech Aerospace Engineering Department will be present.

“This is a great opportunity for our engineering technology students and we are thrilled to partner with the Georgia Tech Aerospace Engineering Department and the Drone Racing Club of Atlanta,” said West Georgia Technical College President Steve G. Daniel. "West Georgia Tech continues to form alliances that generate collaborative ideas and solutions for the benefit of our students and local business and industry. I hope everyone will come out on July 16 for the challenge event on our Carroll Campus."

Drone novices, drone enthusiasts and anyone interested in learning more about drones are invited to attend the DRONE4STEM Challenge Event. Flight simulators and a micro-drone will be available for the public to try.

For additional information, contact WGTC Engineering Technology Instructor Luis Acevedo at (678) 664-0560 or [email protected].