It’s a blend you might say of academics and athletics.

A sport called drone soccer is starting to catch on in certain parts of the world.

Schools in the U.S. are adopting it as a way to get more students into aviation, an industry that badly needs new professionals.

That 2018 competition has given way to scores of STEM-related robotics programs which as parents are discovering are meant to encourage their kids to consider a flying future at a time when pilots are in real demand.

CGTN’s Hendrik Sybrandy reports.