First-Ever Drone Exhibition Brings Novel Technology to Students in Zambia

By Nataizya Shanice Kaluba (Zambia Flying Labs Intern)

Drones are a novel technology in Zambia. The drone industry is relatively new in the country because many people do not know about it, and even fewer people know that they are such a powerful tool for solving many modern-day problems.

Zambia Flying Labs, powered by Luso Robotics Foundation, recognised the opportunity and responsibility to be among the first to spearhead the use of drones, setting the tone for future endeavors.

With this sentiment, the ‘Drone Business Challenge’ idea was born.

But, despite what the name suggests, there was more to the Drone Business Challenge than just the competition. The event’s full name was the ‘Drone Business Challenge and Exhibition.’ As this was the first-ever drone exhibition to be hosted in Zambia, it stirred up quite a bit of excitement, and many people were eager to jump on board to make it happen.

Standard Chartered Bank, Uniturtle, Water Resources, and Management Authority (WARMA), IHS Towers, Copperbelt Energy Cooperation (CEC), Zambia Flying Labs, and The University of Zambia generously sponsored this grand event. Honorable Felix Mutati, the Minister of Technology and Science, and the Minister of Lands graced the event with their presence. We also saw the University of Zambia’s Vice Chancellor and Head of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, Dr. Balimu Mwiya. In addition, the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) televised the event.

The initiative aimed to encourage students to develop creative and innovative ideas for solving modern-day problems using drones, one of the first steps towards stimulating STEM education. And doing it in that particular way made it stand out—what made it exciting—using drones for STEM Ed stimulation. But, of course, the fact that it was also interactive was a bonus.

The participants—all university students from UNZA—had to present business ideas that employed drones to solve an identified problem to enter. Their submissions were scored according to the following criteria: 

• the business and value proposition, 
• the idea’s technological viability,
• the idea’s market and revenue potential, and 
• presentation skills.

Seeing this as an excellent opportunity to showcase their ideas to potential sponsors and a chance to acquaint themselves with important people motivated them to participate. But, of course, the monetary incentive was tempting too.

One of the finalists` submissions involved using drones for security and surveillance-an application that is quickly gaining ground and becoming more popular in the industry.

The prizes had categories for male, female, and team winners, and additional awards were given during the event for best mentors and best students in Zambia Flying Labs.

The other equally thrilling part of the event was the drone exhibition. The main objective of this was to market what drones are about- to give an amount of exposure to people and showcase how students could come up with solutions to problems.

The exhibition brought together in one place different and important stakeholders. People in the drone industry had an opportunity to market their work, highlighting existing projects and companies.

Zambia Flying Labs is big on inclusiveness. It aims to afford students the chance to apply themselves and prove that despite age and limited experience, they can contribute to big things, big shows, and events and make them successful.

This is the main reason why they stepped back and allowed for the show to be run mainly by students. Impressively, the team, which consisted of volunteers, did not disappoint. A generous book donation was made to the Munali Special Education Unit for the Hearing impaired by Zambia Flying Labs, and some of the students were also awarded. 

 It is practically impossible for the students that took part, participants and organisers alike, to have walked away without gaining skills or experiencing personal growth of some form. All participants learned planning and organizational skills, interpersonal skills, the ability to deal with unexpected roadblocks, and the presence of mind to stay calm and objectively come up with a solution. They also learned the importance of thorough preparation and that presentation matters—almost as much as the quality of the concept itself. And they were exposed to new challenges that showed them where they needed to improve collectively and individually.

Overall, the Drone Business Challenge and Exhibition was a success, and the team ensured that things ran smoothly. The consensus was that it is worth undertaking again. It was the first of its kind, but certainly not the last.