M-Pesa school to host Airbus training programme in Kenya

Aircraft manufacturer Airbus is on Saturday set to launch an engineering training programme in Kenya at the M-Pesa Foundation Academy in Thika.

The multinational in August announced it had picked Kenya and Nigeria as its next beneficiaries of a global training programme for schoolchildren looking to pursue careers in engineering.

The programme, dubbed Airbus Little Engineer, aims to educate and help students aged between 10 and 16 understand and appreciate science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Airbus is targeting to impact about 3,000 students in the two countries.

The Kenyan chapter will be run in collaboration with Travelling Telescope, a firm that educates children about astronomy through school visits and public events.

“Africa has developed an ‘innovation’ culture that is growing fast with many social entrepreneurs. We want to support and work with them,” Andrea Debbane, Airbus Foundation executive director, said in an earlier statement.

“It is important that we all join efforts to facilitate the access to STEM skills. These skills play a key role because STEM-related jobs are at the core of solving the complex problems of today’s world and its future.”

The Airbus Foundation launched the ALE program in 2012 and has to date trained over 3,000 students on robotics and aerospace.

Courtesy of Business Daily