Perhaps the figurehead of DJI's efforts in the education space, the Ryze Tello drone – first announced in 2018 – seems certain to disappear as DJI has told specialist site DroneDJ it is to close its STEM (Science Technology Education And Maths) division in the USA.
DJI had already ceased all sales of the Tello drone and other educational offerings – the programmable RoboMaster robots – in China. We asked, and DJI told us: "Currently, DJI’s education line is still available in the overseas market, and we will continue to provide technical and after-sales support to the customers. DJI’s education line aims to provide new and impactful tools and hardware for teachers and students to inspire the next generation of tech innovators. For more information, please follow our official website’s updates in your region."
If true, the DJI Education division didn't have an especially long life, having only been officially created in 2020, though it harks back to the heady days of the first robotics university summer camp as far back as 2013 and the first branded RoboMaster competition in 2015. These competitions were passion projects for students (and a recruiting ground for DJI), and by the 2019 year – the last before the pandemic – the prize pool had reached 3,750,000 RMB ($600,000 / £475,000).
