Amazon Opens Drone Academy at Howard University Amid DEI Rollbacks Across U.S.

By Eden Harris | The Washington Informer | Word In BlackThis& post& was originally published on& The Washington Informer(WIB) – In a world with diversity efforts being rolled back because of a rise in conservative pushback, Amazon launched its weeklong Drone Academy at Howard University to promote diversity in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).Oluwafemi “Femi” Oladosu, a doctoral student at Howard University with more than 10 years of engineering experience, said he enjoys knowing he can be a part of the solution in getting more Black representation in STEM fields.“I know that if I’m there, then we can get more people in, and with more people coming in, then we can, hopefully, be able to support each other and just pull each other through,” he told The Washington Informer.Oladosu explained how the robotics program helps students understand how a drone is pieced together before it is operational.“Sometimes, you see a drone, and it’s fully completed, and it’s working but here they got to engage with the drone to the build-up of the drone,” he said. “It also helps to teach them the mechanics of it: how everything comes together, how the different parts play an important role in the...