As the world is embarking on a transition towards a sustainable development, this year's World Youth Skills Day highlights the ever-increasing significance of the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET).

XAG drone demonstrating in the Technical University of Manabí (UTM), Ecuador

TVET is expected to equip young people with modern skills required for employment, decent work, and entrepreneurship. It promotes equitable, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, and supports transitions to green economies and environmental sustainability.

XAG has always been putting unremitting effort in training young talents with the expertise applicable to the transformation of smart agriculture. This June, XAG's drone technology was warmly welcomed by the Technical University of Manabí (UTM), where students can challenge their minds and learn new skills.

Our Story: Equip Ecuador's University Students with Drone Skills

XAG's local partner Megadrone Ecuador was invited by Dr. Henry Pacheco to attend the first "Geospatial technology Expo" held in UTM, where "Geospatial technology" refers to the information infrastructure used to capture, store, manage, analyze, map, and visualize data related to geographic spatial components, and has various applications in agriculture. A digital field map is required for autonomous drone to operate at high accuracy on farms.

The technician explained the engineering structure of XAG's farm robot

During the field trip, the pilot team demonstrated using XAG's agricultural drone to efficiently perform autonomous mapping. This introduced the students with agricultural backgrounds to the newest technology of field mapping, which was an important practical tutorial that synergized with the theory they learned on campus.

XAG drone was demonstrating autonomous operation

The students were also appealed to the drone's atomized spaying system that allows variable-rate spraying of micron-level droplets on target areas. They were aware that this system can not only decrease the exposure of pesticide to farmers, but also the consumption of water and chemical.

After the lively demonstration, many students showed great interest in the career as a drone pilot. As UTM is now drafting official school-enterprise collaboration with Megadrone Ecuador, they are anticipated to dive deeper into the field of digital farming technology and learn full control of the XAG drone.

A group photo of the students and XAG drones